Glass articles with low-friction coatings

ABSTRACT

Coated glass pharmaceutical packages are disclosed. According to embodiments, a coated glass pharmaceutical package may include a glass container formed from one of a borosilicate glass composition that meets Type 1 criteria according to USP &lt;660&gt; or an alkali aluminosilicate glass having a Class HGA 1 hydrolytic resistance when tested according to the ISO 720-1985 testing standard. A low-friction coating may be bonded to the exterior surface of the glass container. The low-friction coating may include a polymer. The exterior surface of the glass container with the low-friction coating may have a coefficient of friction of less than or equal to 0.7. The coated glass pharmaceutical package may be thermally stable after depyrogenation in air at a temperature of at least about 260° C. for 30 minutes.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/024,825 filed Jun. 30, 2018 and entitled “Glass Articleswith Low-Friction Coatings”, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/374,338 filed Dec. 9, 2016 and entitled “GlassArticles with Low-Friction Coatings”, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/780,754 filed Feb. 28, 2013 and entitled“Glass Articles with Low-Friction Coatings,” and claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/604,220 filed Feb. 28, 2012 andentitled “Glass Containers with a Surface Treatment that Enhances GlassReliability and Methods for Manufacturing the Same,” and to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/665,682 filed Jun. 28, 2012 andentitled “Delamination Resistant Glass Containers with Heat ResistantCoatings,” each of which is incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND Field

The present specification generally relates to coatings and, morespecifically, to low-friction coatings applied to glass containers suchas pharmaceutical packages.

Technical Background

Historically, glass has been used as the preferred material forpackaging pharmaceuticals because of its hermeticity, optical clarity,and excellent chemical durability relative to other materials.Specifically, the glass used in pharmaceutical packaging must haveadequate chemical durability so as not to affect the stability of thepharmaceutical compositions contained therein. Glasses having suitablechemical durability include those glass compositions within the ASTMstandard ‘Type 1B’ which have a proven history of chemical durability.

However, use of glass for such applications is limited by the mechanicalperformance of the glass. In the pharmaceutical industry, glass breakageis a safety concern for the end user, as the broken package and/or thecontents of the package may injure the end user. Further,non-catastrophic breakage (i.e., when the glass cracks but does notbreak) may cause the contents to lose their sterility which, in turn,may result in costly product recalls.

Specifically, the high processing speeds utilized in the manufacture andfilling of glass pharmaceutical packages may result in mechanical damageon the surface of the package, such as abrasions, as the packages comeinto contact with processing equipment, handling equipment, and/or otherpackages. This mechanical damage significantly decreases the strength ofthe glass pharmaceutical package resulting in an increased likelihoodthat cracks will develop in the glass, potentially compromising thesterility of the pharmaceutical contained in the package or causing thecomplete failure of the package.

One approach to improving the mechanical durability of the glass packageis to thermally and/or chemically temper the glass package. Thermaltempering strengthens glass by inducing a surface compressive stressduring rapid cooling after forming. This technique works well for glassarticles with flat geometries (such as windows), glass articles withthicknesses greater than about 2 mm, and glass compositions with highthermal expansion. However, pharmaceutical glass packages typically havecomplex geometries (vial, tubular, ampoule, etc.), thin walls (sometimesbetween about 1-1.5 mm), and are produced from low expansion glasses,making glass pharmaceutical packages unsuitable for strengthening bythermal tempering. Chemical tempering also strengthens glass by theintroduction of surface compressive stress. The stress is introduced bysubmerging the article in a molten salt bath. As ions from the glass arereplaced by larger ions from the molten salt, a compressive stress isinduced in the surface of the glass. The advantage of chemical temperingis that it can be used on complex geometries, thin samples, and isrelatively insensitive to the thermal expansion characteristics of theglass substrate.

However, while the aforementioned tempering techniques improve theability of the strengthened glass to withstand blunt impacts, thesetechniques are less effective in improving the resistance of the glassto abrasions, such as scratches, which may occur during manufacturing,shipping and handling.

Accordingly, a need exists for alternative glass articles which haveimproved resistance to mechanical damage.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, a coated glass article may include a glassbody comprising a first surface and a low-friction coating positioned onat least a portion of the first surface of the glass body, thelow-friction coating comprising a polymer chemical composition. Thecoated glass article may be thermally stable at a temperature of atleast about 260° C. for 30 minutes. A light transmission through thecoated glass article may be greater than or equal to about 55% of alight transmission through an uncoated glass article for wavelengthsfrom about 400 nm to about 700 nm. The low-friction coating may have amass loss of less than about 5% of its mass when heated from atemperature of 150° C. to 350° C. at a ramp rate of about 10° C./minute.

In another embodiment, a coated glass article may include a glass bodycomprising an exterior surface and a low-friction coating positioned onat least a portion of the exterior surface, the low-friction coatingcomprising a polymer chemical composition. A coefficient of friction ofan abraded area of the portion of the exterior surface with thelow-friction coating may be less than 0.7 after exposure to an elevatedtemperature of 280° C. for 30 minutes and abrasion under a 30 N load anddoes not have observable damage. A retained strength of the coated glassarticle in horizontal compression may not decrease by more than about20% after exposure to an elevated temperature of 280° C. for 30 minutesabrasion under a 30 N load.

In yet another embodiment, a coated glass article may include a glassbody having a first surface. A low-friction coating may be positioned onat least a portion of the first surface of the glass body. Thelow-friction coating may include a polymer chemical composition and acoupling agent comprising at least one of: a first silane chemicalcomposition, a hydrolysate thereof, or an oligomer thereof, wherein thefirst silane chemical composition is an aromatic silane chemicalcomposition; and a chemical composition formed from the oligomerizationof at least the first silane chemical composition and a second silanechemical composition. The first silane chemical composition and thesecond silane chemical composition may be different chemicalcompositions. The coated glass article may be thermally stable at atemperature of at least about 260° C. for 30 minutes. A lighttransmission through the coated glass article is greater than or equalto about 55% of a light transmission through an uncoated glass articlefor wavelengths from about 400 nm to about 700 nm. The low-frictioncoating may have a mass loss of less than about 5% of its mass whenheated from a temperature of 150° C. to 350° C. at a ramp rate of about10° C./minute.

In another embodiment, a coated glass article may include a glass bodycomprising a first surface and a low-friction coating positioned on atleast a portion of the first surface of the glass body. The low-frictioncoating may include a coupling agent comprising an oligomer of one ormore silane chemical compositions. The oligomer may be a silsesquioxanechemical composition and at least one of the silane chemicalcompositions comprises at least one aromatic moiety and at least oneamine moiety. The low friction coating may also include a polyimidechemical composition formed from the polymerization of at least a firstdiamine monomer chemical composition, a second diamine monomer chemicalcomposition, and a dianhydride monomer chemical composition. The firstdiamine monomer chemical composition may be different than the seconddiamine monomer chemical composition.

In another embodiment, a coated glass article may include a glass bodycomprising a first surface and a low-friction coating positioned on atleast a portion of the first surface. The low-friction coating mayinclude a polymer chemical composition. The coated glass article may bethermally stable at a temperature of at least about 300° C. for 30minutes. A light transmission through the coated glass article may begreater than or equal to about 55% of a light transmission through anuncoated glass article for wavelengths from about 400 nm to about 700nm.

In another embodiment, a coated glass article may include a glass bodycomprising a first surface and a second surface opposite the firstsurface. The first surface may be an exterior surface of a glasscontainer. A low-friction coating may be bonded to at least a portion ofthe first surface of the glass body. The low-friction coating mayinclude a polymer chemical composition. The coated glass article may bethermally stable at a temperature of at least about 280° C. for 30minutes. A light transmission through the coated glass article may begreater than or equal to about 55% of a light transmission through anuncoated glass article for wavelengths from about 400 nm to about 700nm.

In another embodiment a coated glass article may include a glass bodycomprising a first surface and a low-friction coating bonded to at leasta portion of the first surface of the glass body. The low-frictioncoating may include a coupling agent layer positioned on the firstsurface of the glass body. The coupling agent layer may include acoupling agent comprising at least one of: a first silane chemicalcomposition, a hydrolysate thereof, or an oligomer thereof, wherein thefirst silane chemical composition is an aromatic silane chemicalcomposition; and a chemical composition formed from the oligomerizationof at least the first silane chemical composition and a second silanechemical composition. A polymer layer may be positioned over thecoupling agent layer. The polymer layer may include a polyimide chemicalcomposition. The first silane chemical composition and the second silanechemical composition may be different chemical compositions. The coatedglass article may be thermally stable at a temperature of at least about280° C. for 30 minutes. A light transmission through the coated glassarticle may be greater than or equal to about 55% of a lighttransmission through an uncoated glass article for wavelengths fromabout 400 nm to about 700 nm.

In another embodiment, a coated glass article may include a glass bodyhaving a first surface and a low-friction coating bonded to at least aportion of the first surface of the glass body. The low-friction coatingmay include a coupling agent layer comprising a coupling agentcomprising an oligomer of one or more silane chemical compositions. Theoligomer may be a silsesquioxane chemical composition and at least oneof the silane chemical compositions comprises at least one aromaticmoiety and at least one amine moiety. The low friction coating mayfurther comprise a polymer layer comprising a polyimide chemicalcomposition formed from the polymerization of at least a first diaminemonomer chemical composition, a second diamine monomer chemicalcomposition, and a dianhydride monomer chemical composition. The firstdiamine monomer chemical composition may be different than the seconddiamine monomer chemical composition. The low-friction coating may alsoinclude an interface layer comprising one or more chemical compositionsof the polymer layer bound with one or more of the chemical compositionsof the coupling agent layer.

In another embodiment, a low-friction coating for a substrate mayinclude a polyimide chemical composition and a coupling agent. Thecoupling agent may include at least one of: a mixture of a first silanechemical composition, a hydrolysate thereof, or an oligomer thereof, anda second silane chemical composition, a hydrolysate thereof, or anoligomer thereof, wherein the first silane chemical composition may bean aromatic silane chemical composition and the second silane chemicalcomposition may be an aliphatic silane chemical composition; and achemical composition formed from the oligomerization of at least thefirst silane chemical composition and the second silane chemicalcomposition. The coating may be thermally stable at a temperature of atleast about 260° C. for 30 minutes. A light transmission through thecoating may be greater than or equal to about 55%. The low-frictioncoating has a mass loss of less than about 5% of its mass when heatedfrom a temperature of 150° C. to 350° C. at a ramp rate of about 10°C./minute.

Additional features and advantages of the coated glass articles andmethods and processes for manufacturing the same will be set forth inthe detailed description which follows, and in part will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognizedby practicing the embodiments described herein, including the detaileddescription which follows, the claims, as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description describe various embodiments and areintended to provide an overview or framework for understanding thenature and character of the claimed subject matter. The accompanyingdrawings are included to provide a further understanding of the variousembodiments, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of thisspecification. The drawings illustrate the various embodiments describedherein, and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples and operations of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically depicts a cross section of a glass container with alow-friction coating, according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein;

FIG. 2 schematically depicts a cross section of a glass container with alow-friction coating comprising a polymer layer and a coupling agentlayer, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 3 schematically depicts a cross section of a glass container with alow-friction coating comprising a polymer layer, a coupling agent layer,and an interface layer, according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein,

FIG. 4 shows an example of a diamine monomer chemical composition,according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 5 shows an example of a diamine monomer chemical composition,according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 6 depicts the chemical structures of monomers that may be used aspolyimide coatings applied to glass containers, according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method for forming aglass container with a low-friction coating, according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 8 schematically depicts the steps of the flow diagram of FIG. 7,according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 9 schematically depicts a testing jig for determining thecoefficient of friction between two surfaces, according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 10 schematically depicts an apparatus for testing the mass loss ofa glass container, according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein;

FIG. 11 graphically depicts the light transmittance data for coated anduncoated vials measured in the visible light spectrum from 400-700 nm,according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 12 graphically depicts the failure probability as a function ofapplied load in a horizontal compression test for vials, according toone or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 13 contains a Table reporting the load and measured coefficient offriction for Schott Type 1B glass vials and vials formed from aReference Glass Composition that were ion exchanged and coated,according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 14 graphically depicts the failure probability as a function ofapplied stress in four point bending for tubes formed from a ReferenceGlass Composition in as received condition, in ion exchanged condition(uncoated), in ion exchanged condition (coated and abraded), in ionexchanged condition (uncoated and abraded) and for tubes formed fromSchott Type 1B glass in as received condition and in ion exchangedcondition, according to one or more embodiments shown and describedherein;

FIG. 15 depicts gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer output data for aAPS/NOVASTRAT® 800 coating, according to one or more embodiments shownand described herein;

FIG. 16 depicts gas chromatography-mass spectrometer output data for aDC806A coating, according to one or more embodiments shown and describedherein;

FIG. 17 contains a Table reporting different low-friction coatingcompositions which were tested under lyophilization conditions,according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 18 contains a chart reporting the coefficient of friction for bareglass vials and vials having a silicone resin coating tested in avial-on-vial jig, according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein;

FIG. 19 contains a chart reporting the coefficient of friction for vialscoated with an APS/Kapton polyimide coating and abraded multiple timesunder different applied loads in a vial-on-vial jig, according to one ormore embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 20 contains a chart reporting the coefficient of friction for vialscoated with an APS coating and abraded multiple times under differentapplied loads in a vial-on-vial jig, according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 21 contains a chart reporting the coefficient of friction for vialscoated with an APS/Kapton polyimide coating and abraded multiple timesunder different applied loads in a vial-on-vial jig after the vials wereexposed to 300° C. for 12 hours, according to one or more embodimentsshown and described herein;

FIG. 22 contains a chart reporting the coefficient of friction for vialscoated with an APS coating and abraded multiple times under differentapplied loads in a vial-on-vial jig after the vials were exposed to 300°C. for 12 hours, according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein;

FIG. 23 contains a chart reporting the coefficient of friction forSchott Type 1B vials coated with a Kapton polyimide coating and abradedmultiple times under different applied loads in a vial-on-vial jig,according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 24 shows the coefficient of friction for APS/NOVASTRAT® 800 coatedvials before and after lyophilization, according to one or moreembodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 25 graphically depicts the failure probability as a function ofapplied load in a horizontal compression test for vials, according toone or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 26 shows the coefficient of friction for APS/NOVASTRAT® 800 coatedvials before and after autoclaving, according to one or more embodimentsshown and described herein;

FIG. 27 graphically depicts the coefficient of friction for coated glasscontainers exposed to different temperature conditions and for anuncoated glass container;

FIG. 28 contains a Table illustrating the change in the coefficient offriction with variations in the composition of the coupling agent of alow-friction coating applied to a glass container as described herein;

FIG. 29 graphically depicts the coefficient of friction, applied forceand frictive force for coated glass containers before and afterdepyrogenation;

FIG. 30 graphically depicts the coefficient of friction, applied forceand frictive force for coated glass containers for differentdepyrogenation conditions;

FIG. 31 shows a schematic diagram of reaction steps of a silane bondingto a substrate, according to one or more embodiments shown and describedherein;

FIG. 32 shows a schematic diagram of reaction steps of a polyimidebonding to a silane, according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein;

FIG. 33 graphically depicts the coefficient of friction, scratchpenetration, applied normal force, and frictional force (y-ordinates) asa function of the length of the applied scratch (x-ordinate) for theas-coated vials of a Comparative Example;

FIG. 34 graphically depicts the coefficient of friction, scratchpenetration, applied normal force, and frictional force (y-ordinates) asa function of the length of the applied scratch (x-ordinate) for thethermally treated vials of a Comparative Example;

FIG. 35 graphically depicts the coefficient of friction, scratchpenetration, applied normal force, and frictional force (y-ordinates) asa function of the length of the applied scratch (x-ordinate) for theas-coated vials of a Comparative Example;

FIG. 36 graphically depicts the coefficient of friction, scratchpenetration, applied normal force, and frictional force (y-ordinates) asa function of the length of the applied scratch (x-ordinate) for thethermally treated vials of a Comparative Example;

FIG. 37 graphically depicts the coefficient of friction, applied forceand frictive force for coated glass containers before and afterdepyrogenation, according to one or more embodiments shown and describedherein;

FIG. 38 graphically depicts the failure probability as a function ofapplied load in a horizontal compression test for vials, according toone or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 39 graphically depicts the coefficient of friction, applied forceand frictive force for coated glass containers before and afterdepyrogenation, according to one or more embodiments shown and describedherein;

FIG. 40 graphically depicts the coefficient of friction after varyingheat treatment times, according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein, according to one or more embodiments shown anddescribed herein;

FIG. 41 graphically depicts the coefficient of friction, applied forceand frictive force for coated glass containers before and afterdepyrogenation, according to one or more embodiments shown and describedherein;

FIG. 42 graphically depicts the failure probability as a function ofapplied load in a horizontal compression test for vials, according toone or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 43 shows a scanning electron microscope image of a coating,according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 44 shows a scanning electron microscope image of a coating,according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 45 shows a scanning electron microscope image of a coating,according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; and

FIG. 46 graphically depicts the light transmittance data for coated anduncoated vials measured in the visible light spectrum from 400-700 nm,according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments oflow-friction coatings, glass articles with low-friction coatings, andmethods for producing the same, examples of which are schematicallydepicted in the figures. Such coated glass articles may be glasscontainers suitable for use in various packaging applications including,without limitation, as pharmaceutical packages. These pharmaceuticalpackages may or may not contain a pharmaceutical composition. Variousembodiments of the low-friction coatings, glass articles withlow-friction coatings, and methods for forming the same will bedescribed in further detail herein with specific reference to theappended drawings. While embodiments of the low-friction coatingsdescribed herein are applied to the outer surface of a glass container,it should be understood that the low-friction coatings described may beused as a coating on a wide variety of materials, including non-glassmaterials and on substrates other than containers including, withoutlimitation, glass display panels and the like.

Generally, a low-friction coating may be applied to a surface of a glassarticle, such as a container that may be used as a pharmaceuticalpackage. The low-friction coating may provide advantageous properties tothe coated glass article such as a reduced coefficient of friction andincreased damage resistance. The reduced coefficient of friction mayimpart improved strength and durability to the glass article bymitigating frictive damage to the glass. Further, the low-frictioncoating may maintain the aforementioned improved strength and durabilitycharacteristics following exposure to elevated temperatures and otherconditions, such as those experienced during packaging and pre-packagingsteps utilized in packaging pharmaceuticals, such as, for example,depyrogenation, autoclaving and the like. Accordingly, the low-frictioncoatings and glass articles with the low-friction coating are thermallystable.

The low-friction coating may generally comprise a coupling agent, suchas a silane, and a polymer chemical composition, such as a polyimide. Insome embodiments, the coupling agent may be disposed in a coupling agentlayer positioned on the surface of the glass article and the polymerchemical composition may be disposed in a polymer layer positioned onthe coupling agent layer. In other embodiments, the coupling agent andthe polymer chemical composition may be mixed in a single layer.

FIG. 1 schematically depicts a cross section of a coated glass article,specifically a coated glass container 100. The coated glass container100 comprises a glass body 102 and a low-friction coating 120. The glassbody 102 has a glass container wall 104 extending between an exteriorsurface 108 (i.e., a first surface) and an interior surface 110 (i.e., asecond surface). The interior surface 110 of the glass container wall104 defines an interior volume 106 of the coated glass container 100. Alow-friction coating 120 is positioned on at least a portion of theexterior surface 108 of the glass body 102. In some embodiments, thelow-friction coating 120 may be positioned on substantially the entireexterior surface 108 of the glass body 102. The low-friction coating 120has an outer surface 122 and a glass body contacting surface 124 at theinterface of the glass body 102 and the low-friction coating 120. Thelow-friction coating 120 may be bonded to the glass body 102 at theexterior surface 108.

In one embodiment, the coated glass container 100 is a pharmaceuticalpackage. For example, the glass body 102 may be in the shape of a vial,ampoule, ampul, bottle, flask, phial, beaker, bucket, carafe, vat,syringe body, or the like. The coated glass container 100 may be usedfor containing any composition, and in one embodiment, may be used forcontaining a pharmaceutical composition. A pharmaceutical compositionmay include any chemical substance intended for use in the medicaldiagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease. Examples ofpharmaceutical compositions include, but are not limited to, medicines,drugs, medications, medicaments, remedies, and the like. Thepharmaceutical composition may be in the form of a liquid, solid, gel,suspension, powder, or the like.

Now referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in one embodiment, the low-frictioncoating 120 comprises a bi-layered structure. FIG. 2 shows a crosssection of a coated glass container 100, where the low-friction coatingcomprises a polymer layer 170 and a coupling agent layer 180. A polymerchemical composition may be contained in polymer layer 170 and acoupling agent may be contained in a coupling agent layer 180. Thecoupling agent layer 180 may be in direct contact with the exteriorsurface 108 of the glass container wall 104. The polymer layer 170 maybe in direct contact with the coupling agent layer 180 and may form theouter surface 122 of the low-friction coating 120. In some embodimentsthe coupling agent layer 180 is bonded to the glass container wall 104and the polymer layer 170 is bonded to the coupling agent layer 180 atan interface 174. However, it should be understood that, in someembodiments, the low-friction coating 120 may not include a couplingagent, and the polymer chemical composition may be disposed in a polymerlayer 170 in direct contact with the exterior surface 108 of the of theglass container wall 104. In another embodiment, the polymer chemicalcomposition and coupling agent may be substantially mixed in a singlelayer. In some other embodiments, the polymer layer may be positionedover the coupling agent layer, meaning that the polymer layer 170 is inan outer layer relative to the coupling agent layer 180, and the glasscontainer wall 104. As used herein, a first layer positioned “over” asecond layer means that the first layer could be in direct contact withthe second layer or separated from the second layer, such as with athird layer disposed between the first and second layers.

Referring now to FIG. 3, in one embodiment, the low-friction coating 120may further comprise an interface layer 190 positioned between thecoupling agent layer 180 and the polymer layer 170. The interface layer190 may comprise one or more chemical compositions of the polymer layer170 bound with one or more of the chemical compositions of the couplingagent layer 180. In this embodiment, the interface of the coupling agentlayer and polymer layer forms an interface layer 190 where bondingoccurs between the polymer chemical composition and the coupling agent.However, it should be understood that in some embodiments, there may beno appreciable layer at the interface of the coupling agent layer 180and polymer layer 170 where the polymer and coupling agent arechemically bound to one another as described above with reference toFIG. 2.

The low-friction coating 120 applied to the glass body 102 may have athickness of less than about 100 μm or even less than or equal to about1 μm. In some embodiments, the thickness of the low-friction coating 120may be less than or equal to about 100 nm thick. In other embodiments,the low-friction coating 120 may be less than about 90 nm thick, lessthan about 80 nm thick, less than about 70 nm thick, less than about 60nm thick, less than about 50 nm, or even less than about 25 nm thick. Insome embodiments, the low-friction coating 120 may not be of uniformthickness over the entirety of the glass body 102. For example, thecoated glass container 100 may have a thicker low-friction coating 120in some areas, due to the process of contacting the glass body 102 withone or more coating solutions that form the low-friction coating 120. Insome embodiments, the low-friction coating 120 may have a non-uniformthickness. For example, the coating thickness may be varied overdifferent regions of a coated glass container 100, which may promoteprotection in a selected region.

In embodiments which include at least two layers, such as the polymerlayer 170, interface layer 190, and/or coupling agent layer 180, eachlayer may have a thickness of less than about 100 μm or even less thanor equal to about 1 μm. In some embodiments, the thickness of each layermay be less than or equal to about 100 nm. In other embodiments, eachlayer may be less than about 90 nm thick, less than about 80 nm thick,less than about 70 nm thick, less than about 60 nm thick, less thanabout 50 nm, or even less than about 25 nm thick.

As noted herein, in some embodiments, the low-friction coating 120comprises a coupling agent. The coupling agent may improve the adherenceor bonding of the polymer chemical composition to the glass body 102,and is generally disposed between the glass body 102 and the polymerchemical composition or mixed with the polymer chemical composition.Adhesion, as used herein, refers to the strength of adherence or bondingof the low friction coating prior to and following a treatment appliedto the coated glass container, such as a thermal treatment. Thermaltreatments include, without limitation, autoclaving, depyrogenation,lyophilization, or the like.

In one embodiment, the coupling agent may comprise at least one silanechemical composition. As used herein, a “silane” chemical composition isany chemical composition comprising a silane moiety, includingfunctional organosilanes, as well as silanols formed from silanes inaqueous solutions. The silane chemical compositions of the couplingagent may be aromatic or aliphatic. In some embodiments, the at leastone silane chemical composition may comprise an amine moiety, such as aprimary amine moiety or a secondary amine moiety. Furthermore, thecoupling agent may comprise hydrolysates and/or oligomers of suchsilanes, such as one or more silsesquioxane chemical compositions thatare formed from the one or more silane chemical compositions. Thesilsesquioxane chemical compositions may comprise a full cage structure,partial cage structure, or no cage structure.

The coupling agent may comprise any number of different chemicalcompositions, such as one chemical composition, two different chemicalcompositions, or more than two different chemical compositions includingoligomers formed from more than one monomeric chemical composition. Inone embodiment, the coupling agent may comprise at least one of (1) afirst silane chemical composition, hydrolysate thereof, or oligomerthereof, and (2) a chemical composition formed from the oligomerizationof at least the first silane chemical composition and a second silanechemical composition. In another embodiment, the coupling agentcomprises a first and second silane. As used herein, a “first” silanechemical composition and a “second” silane chemical composition aresilanes having different chemical compositions. The first silanechemical composition may be an aromatic or an aliphatic chemicalcomposition, may optionally comprise an amine moiety, and may optionallybe an alkoxysilane. Similarly, the second silane chemical compositionmay be an aromatic or an aliphatic chemical composition, may optionallycomprise an amine moiety, and may optionally be an alkoxysilane.

For example, in one embodiment, only one silane chemical composition isapplied as the coupling agent. In such an embodiment, the coupling agentmay comprise a silane chemical composition, hydrolysate thereof, oroligomer thereof.

In another embodiment, multiple silane chemical compositions may beapplied as the coupling agent. In such an embodiment, the coupling agentmay comprise at least one of (1) a mixture of the first silane chemicalcomposition and a second silane chemical composition, and (2) a chemicalcomposition formed from the oligomerization of at least the first silanechemical composition and the second silane chemical composition.

Referring to the embodiments described above, the first silane chemicalcomposition, second silane chemical composition, or both, may bearomatic chemical compositions. As used herein, an aromatic chemicalcomposition contains one or more six-carbon rings characteristic of thebenzene series and related organic moieties. The aromatic silanechemical composition may be an alkoxysilane such as, but not limited to,a dialkoxysilane chemical composition, hydrolysate thereof, or oligomerthereof, or a trialkoxysilane chemical composition, hydrolysate thereof,or oligomer thereof. In some embodiments, the aromatic silane maycomprise an amine moiety, and may be an alkoxysilane comprising an aminemoiety. In another embodiment, the aromatic silane chemical compositionmay be an aromatic alkoxysilane chemical composition, an aromaticacyloxysilane chemical composition, an aromatic halogen silane chemicalcomposition, or an aromatic aminosilane chemical composition. In anotherembodiment, the aromatic silane chemical composition may be selectedfrom the group consisting of aminophenyl, 3-(m-aminophenoxy) propyl,N-phenylaminopropyl, or (chloromethyl) phenyl substituted alkoxy,acyloxy, halogen, or amino silanes. For example, the aromaticalkoxysilane may be, but is not limited to, aminophenyltrimethoxy silane(sometimes referred to herein as “APhTMS”), aminophenyldimethoxy silane,aminophenyltriethoxy silane, aminophenyldiethoxy silane,3-(m-aminophenoxy) propyltrimethoxy silane, 3-(m-aminophenoxy)propyldimethoxy silane, 3-(m-aminophenoxy) propyltriethoxy silane,3-(m-aminophenoxy) propyldiethoxy silane,N-phenylaminopropyltrimethoxysilane, N-phenylaminopropyldimethoxysilane,N-phenylaminopropyltriethoxysilane, N-phenylaminopropyldiethoxysilane,hydrolysates thereof, or oligomerized chemical composition thereof. Inan exemplary embodiment, the aromatic silane chemical composition may beaminophenyltrimethoxy silane.

Referring again to the embodiments described above, the first silanechemical composition, second silane chemical composition, or both, maybe aliphatic chemical compositions. As used herein, an aliphaticchemical composition is non-aromatic, such as a chemical compositionhaving an open chain structure, such as, but not limited to, alkanes,alkenes, and alkynes. For example, in some embodiments, the couplingagent may comprise a chemical composition that is an alkoxysilane andmay be an aliphatic alkoxysilane such as, but not limited to, adialkoxysilane chemical composition, a hydrolysate thereof, or anoligomer thereof, or a trialkoxysilane chemical composition, ahydrolysate thereof, or an oligomer thereof. In some embodiments, thealiphatic silane may comprise an amine moiety, and may be analkoxysilane comprising an amine moiety, such as anaminoalkyltrialkoxysilane. In one embodiment, an aliphatic silanechemical composition may be selected from the group consisting of3-aminopropyl, N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl, vinyl, methyl,N-phenylaminopropyl, (N-phenylamino)methyl,N-(2-Vinylbenzylaminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl substituted alkoxy, acyloxy,halogen, or amino silanes, hydrolysates thereof, or oligomers thereof.Aminoalkyltrialkoxysilanes, include, but are not limited to,3-aminopropyltrimethoxy silane (sometimes referred to herein as “GAPS”),3-aminopropyldimethoxy silane, 3-aminopropyltriethoxy silane,3-aminopropyldiethoxy silane,N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane,N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyldimethoxysilane,N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane,N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyldiethoxysilane, hydrolysates thereof, andoligomerized chemical composition thereof. In other embodiments, thealiphatic alkoxysilane chemical composition may not contain an aminemoiety, such as an alkyltrialkoxysilane or alkylbialkoxysilane. Suchalkyltrialkoxysilanes or alkylbialkoxysilanes include, but are notlimited to, vinyltrimethoxy silane, vinyldimethoxy silane,vinyltriethoxy silane, vinyldiethoxy silane, methyltrimethoxysilane,methyltdimethoxysilane, methyltriethoxysilane, methyldiethoxysilane,hydrolysates thereof, or oligomerized chemical composition thereof. Inan exemplary embodiment, the aliphatic silane chemical composition is3-aminopropyltrimethoxy silane.

It has been found that forming the coupling agent from combinations ofdifferent chemical compositions, particularly combinations of silanechemical compositions, may improve the thermal stability of thelow-friction coating 120. For example, it has been found thatcombinations of aromatic silanes and aliphatic silanes, such as thosedescribed above, improve the thermal stability of the low-frictioncoating, thereby producing a coating which retains its the mechanicalproperties, such as coefficient of friction and adhesion performancefollowing a heat treatment at elevated temperatures. Accordingly, in oneembodiment the coupling agent comprises a combination of aromatic andaliphatic silanes. In these embodiments, the ratio of aliphatic silanesto aromatic silanes (aliphatic:aromatic) may be from about 1:3 to about1:0.2. If the coupling agent comprises two or more chemical composition,such as at least an aliphatic silane and an aromatic silane, the ratioby weight of the two chemical compositions may be any ratio, such as aweight ratio of a first silane chemical composition to a second silanechemical composition (first silane:second silane) of about 0.1:1 toabout 10:1. For example, in some embodiments the ration may be from0.5:1 to about 2:1, such as 2:1, 1:1, 0.5:1. In some embodiments, thecoupling agent may comprise combinations of multiple aliphatic silanesand/or multiple aromatic silanes, which could be applied to the glasscontainer in one or multiple steps with or without organic or inorganicfillers. In some embodiments, the coupling agent comprises oligomers,such as silsesquioxanes, formed from both the aliphatic and aromaticsilanes.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first silane chemical composition is anaromatic silane chemical composition and the second silane chemicalcomposition is an aliphatic silane chemical composition. In oneexemplary embodiment, the first silane chemical composition is anaromatic alkoxysilane chemical composition comprising at least one aminemoiety and the second silane chemical composition is an aliphaticalkoxysilane chemical composition comprising at least one amine moiety.In another exemplary embodiment, the coupling agent comprises anoligomer of one or more silane chemical compositions, wherein theoligomer is a silsesquioxane chemical composition and at least one ofthe silane chemical compositions comprises at least one aromatic moietyand at least one amine moiety. In one particular exemplary embodiment,the first silane chemical composition is aminophenyltrimethoxy silaneand the second silane chemical composition is 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane. The ratio of aromatic silane to aliphatic silane may be about1:1. In another particular exemplary embodiment, the coupling agentcomprises an oligomer formed from aminophenyltrimethoxy and3-aminopropyltrimethoxy. In another embodiment, the coupling agent maycomprise both a mixture of aminophenyltrimethoxy and3-aminopropyltrimethoxy and oligomers formed from the two.

In another embodiment, the coupling agent may comprise a chemicalcomposition that is an aminoalkylsilsesquioxane. In one embodiment thecoupling agent comprises aminopropylsilsesquioxane (APS) oligomer(commercially available as an aqueous solution from Gelest).

In one embodiment, the aromatic silane chemical composition is achlorosilane chemical composition.

In another embodiment, the coupling agent may comprise chemicalcomposition that are hydrolyzed analogs of aminoalkoxysilanes such as,but not limited to, (3-Aminopropyl)silantriol,N-(2-Aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl-silantriol and/or mixtures thereof.

In another embodiment, the coupling agent may be an inorganic material,such as metal and/or a ceramic film. Non-limiting examples of suitableinorganic materials used as the coupling agent include titanates,zirconates, tin, titanium, and/or oxides thereof.

In one embodiment, the coupling agent is applied to the exterior surface108 of the glass body 102 by contacting with the diluted coupling agentby a submersion process. The coupling agent may be mixed in a solventwhen applied to the glass body 102. In another embodiment, the couplingagent may be applied to the glass body 102 by a spray or other suitablemeans. The glass body 102 with coupling agent may then be dried ataround 120° C. for about 15 min, or any time and temperature sufficientto adequately liberate the water and/or other organic solvents presenton the exterior surface 108 of the glass container wall 104.

Referring to FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the coupling agent is positionedon the glass container as a coupling agent layer 180 and is applied as asolution comprising about 0.5 wt % of a first silane and about 0.5 wt %of a second silane (total 1 wt % silane) mixed with at least one ofwater and an organic solvent, such as, but not limited to, methanol.However, it should be understood that the total silane concentration inthe solution may be more or less than about 1 wt %, such as from about0.1 wt % to about 10 wt %, from about 0.3 wt % to about 5.0 wt %, orfrom about 0.5 wt % to about 2.0 wt %. For example, in one embodiment,the weight ratio of organic solvent to water (organic solvent:water) maybe from about 90:10 to about 10:90, and, in one embodiment, may be about75:25. The weight ratio of silane to solvent may affect the thickness ofthe coupling agent layer, where increased percentages of silane chemicalcomposition in the coupling agent solution may increase the thickness ofthe coupling agent layer 180. However, it should be understood thatother variables may affect the thickness of the coupling agent layer 180such as, but not limited, the specifics of the dip coating process, suchas the withdraw speed from the bath. For example, a faster withdrawspeed may form a thinner coupling agent layer 180.

In another embodiment, the coupling agent layer 180 may be applied as asolution comprising 0.1 vol % of a commercially availableaminopropylsilsesquioxane oligomer. Coupling agent layer solutions ofother concentrations may be used, including but not limited to,0.01-10.0 vol % aminopropylsilsesquioxane oligomer solutions.

As noted herein, the low friction coating also includes a polymerchemical composition. The polymer chemical composition may be athermally stable polymer or mixture of polymers, such as but not limitedto, polyimides, polybenzimidazoles, polysulfones, polyetheretherketones,polyetherimides, polyamides, polyphenyls, polybenzothiazoles,polybenzoxazoles, polybisthiazoles, and polyaromatic heterocyclicpolymers with and without organic or inorganic fillers. The polymerchemical composition may be formed from other thermally stable polymers,such as polymers that do not degrade at temperatures in the range offrom 200° C. to 400° C., including 250° C., 300° C., and 350° C. Thesepolymers may be applied with or without a coupling agent.

In one embodiment, the polymer chemical composition is a polyimidechemical composition. If the low-friction coating 120 comprises apolyimide, the polyimide composition may be derived from a polyamicacid, which is formed in a solution by the polymerization of monomers.One such polyamic acid is NOVASTRAT® 800 (commercially available fromNeXolve). A curing step imidizes the polyamic acid to form thepolyimide. The polyamic acid may be formed from the reaction of adiamine monomer, such as a diamine, and an anhydride monomer, such as adianhydride. As used herein, polyimide monomers are described as diaminemonomers and dianhydride monomers. However, it should be understood thatwhile a diamine monomer comprises two amine moieties, in the descriptionthat follows, any monomer comprising at least two amine moieties may besuitable as a diamine monomer. Similarly, it should be understood thatwhile a dianhydride monomer comprises two anhydride moieties, in thedescription that follows any monomer comprising at least two anhydridemoieties may be suitable as a dianhydride monomer. The reaction betweenthe anhydride moieties of the anhydride monomer and amine moieties ofthe diamine monomer forms the polyamic acid. Therefore, as used herein,a polyimide chemical composition that is formed from the polymerizationof specified monomers refers to the polyimide that is formed followingthe imidization of a polyamic acid that is formed from those specifiedmonomers. Generally, the molar ratio of the total anhydride monomers anddiamine monomers may be about 1:1. While the polyimide may be formedfrom only two distinct chemical compositions (one anhydride monomer andone diamine monomer), at least one anhydride monomer may be polymerizedand at least one diamine monomer may be polymerized to from thepolyimide. For example, one anhydride monomer may be polymerized withtwo different diamine monomers. Any number of monomer speciecombinations may be used. Furthermore, the ratio of one anhydridemonomer to a different anhydride monomer, or one or more diamine monomerto a different diamine monomer may be any ratio, such as between about1:0.1 to 0.1:1, such as about 1:9, 1:4, 3:7, 2:3, 1:1, 3:2, 7:3, 4:1 or1:9.

The anhydride monomer from which, along with the diamine monomer, thepolyimide is formed may comprise any anhydride monomer. In oneembodiment, the anhydride monomer comprises a benzophenone structure. Inan exemplary embodiment, benzophenone-3,3′,4,4′-tetracarboxylicdianhydride may be at least one of the anhydride monomer from which thepolyimide is formed. In other embodiments, the diamine monomer may havean anthracene structure, a phenanthrene structure, a pyrene structure,or a pentacene structure, including substituted versions of the abovementioned dianhydrides.

The diamine monomer from which, along with the anhydride monomer, thepolyimide is formed may comprise any diamine monomer. In one embodiment,the diamine monomer comprises at least one aromatic ring moiety. FIGS. 4and 5 show examples of diamine monomers that, along with one or moreselected anhydride monomer, may form the polyimide comprising thepolymer chemical composition. The diamine monomer may have one or morecarbon molecules connecting two aromatic ring moieties together, asshown in FIG. 5, wherein R of FIG. 5 corresponds to an alkyl moietycomprising one or more carbon atoms. Alternatively, the diamine monomermay have two aromatic ring moieties that are directly connected and notseparated by at least one carbon molecule, as shown in FIG. 4. Thediamine monomer may have one or more alkyl moieties, as represented byR′ and R″ in FIGS. 4 and 5. For example, in FIGS. 4 and 5, R′ and R″ mayrepresent an alkyl moiety such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, or butylmoieties, connected to one or more aromatic ring moieties. For example,the diamine monomer may have two aromatic ring moieties wherein eacharomatic ring moiety has an alkyl moiety connected thereto and adjacentan amine moiety connected to the aromatic ring moiety. It should beunderstood that R′ and R″, in both FIGS. 4 and 5, may be the samechemical moiety or may be different chemical moieties. Alternatively, R′and/or R″, in both FIGS. 4 and 5, may represent no atoms at all.

Two different chemical compositions of diamine monomers may form thepolyimide. In one embodiment, a first diamine monomer comprises twoaromatic ring moieties that are directly connected and not separated bya linking carbon molecule, and a second diamine monomer comprises twoaromatic ring moieties that are connected with at least one carbonmolecule connecting the two aromatic ring moieties. In one exemplaryembodiment, the first diamine monomer, the second diamine monomer, andthe anhydride monomer have a molar ratio (first diamine monomer: seconddiamine monomer: anhydride monomer) of about 0.465:0.035:0.5. However,the ratio of the first diamine monomer and the second diamine monomermay vary in a range of about 0.01:0.49 to about 0.40:0.10, while theanhydride monomer ratio remains at about 0.5.

In one embodiment, the polyimide composition is formed from thepolymerization of at least a first diamine monomer, a second diaminemonomer, and an anhydride monomer, wherein the first and second diaminemonomers are different chemical compositions. In one embodiment, theanhydride monomer is a benzophenone, the first diamine monomer comprisestwo aromatic rings directly bonded together, and the second diaminemonomer comprises two aromatic rings bonded together with at least onecarbon molecule connecting the first and second aromatic rings. Thefirst diamine monomer, the second diamine monomer, and the anhydridemonomer may have a molar ratio (first diamine monomer: second diaminemonomer: anhydride monomer) of about 0.465:0.035:0.5.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first diamine monomer is ortho-Tolidine,the second diamine monomer is 4,4′-methylene-bis(2-methylaniline), andthe anhydride monomer is benzophenone-3,3′,4,4′-tetracarboxylicdianhydride. The first diamine monomer, the second diamine monomer, andthe anhydride monomer may have a molar ratio (first diamine monomer:second diamine monomer: anhydride monomer) of about 0.465:0.035:0.5.

In some embodiments, the polyimide may be formed from the polymerizationof one or more of: bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2,3,5,6-tetracarboxylicdianhydride, cyclopentane-1,2,3,4-tetracarboxylic 1,2;3,4-dianhydride,bicyclo[2.2.2]octane-2,3,5,6-tetracarboxylic dianhydride,4arH,8acH)-decahydro-1t,4t:5c,8c-dimethanonaphthalene-2t,3t,6c,7c-tetracarboxylic2,3:6,7-dianhydride, 2c,3c,6c,7c-tetracarboxylic 2,3:6,7-dianhydride,5-endo-carboxymethylbicyclo[2.2.1]-heptane-2-exo,3-exo,5-exo-tricarboxylicacid 2,3:5,5-dianhydride,5-(2,5-Dioxotetrahydro-3-furanyl)-3-methyl-3-cyclohexene-1,2-dicarboxylicanhydride, isomers of Bis(aminomethyl)bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane, or4,4′-Methylenebis(2-methylcyclohexylamine), Pyromellitic dianhydride(PMDA) 3,3′,4,4′-Biphenyl dianhydride (4,4′-BPDA),3,3′,4,4′-Benzophenone dianhydride (4,4′-BTDA), 3,3′,4,4′-Oxydiphthalicanhydride (4,4′-ODPA), 1,4-Bis(3,4-dicarboxyl-phenoxy)benzenedianhydride (4,4′-HQDPA), 1,3-Bis(2,3-dicarboxyl-phenoxy)benzenedianhydride (3,3′-HQDPA), 4,4′-Bis(3,4-dicarboxylphenoxyphenyl)-isopropylidene dianhydride (4,4′-BPADA),4,4′-(2,2,2-Trifluoro-1-pentafluorophenylethylidene) diphthalicdianhydride (3FDA), 4,4′-Oxydianiline (ODA), m-Phenylenediamine (MPD),p-Phenylenediamine (PPD), m-Toluenediamine (TDA),1,4-Bis(4-aminophenoxy)benzene (1,4,4-APB),3,3′-(m-Phenylenebis(oxy))dianiline (APB),4,4′-Diamino-3,3′-dimethyldiphenylmethane (DMMDA),2,2′-Bis(4-(4-aminophenoxy)phenyl)propane (BAPP), 1,4-Cyclohexanediamine2,2′-Bis[4-(4-amino-phenoxy) phenyl] hexafluoroisopropylidene (4-BDAF),6-Amino-1-(4′-aminophenyl)-1,3,3-trimethylindane (DAPI), Maleicanhydride (MA), Citraconic anhydride (CA), Nadic anhydride (NA),4-(Phenylethynyl)-1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid anhydride (PEPA),4,4′-diaminobenzanilide (DABA),4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)di-phthalicanhydride (6-FDA),Pyromellitic dianhydride, benzophenone-3,3′,4,4′-tetracarboxylicdianhydride, 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride,4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride,perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride, 4,4′-oxydiphthalicanhydride, 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride,4,4′-(4,4′-Isopropylidenediphenoxy)bis(phthalic anhydride),1,4,5,8-Naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride,2,3,6,7-Naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride, as well as thosematerials described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,619,042, 8,053,492, 4,880,895,6,232,428, 4,595,548, WO Pub. No. 2007/016516, U.S. Pat. Pub. No.2008/0214777, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,444,783, 6,277,950, and U.S. Pat. No.4,680,373. FIG. 6 depicts the chemical structure of some suitablemonomers that may be used to form a polyimide coating applied to theglass body 102. In another embodiment, the polyamic acid solution fromwhich the polyimide is formed may comprise poly (pyromelliticdianhydride-co-4,4′-oxydianiline) amic acid (commercially available fromAldrich).

In another embodiment, the polymer chemical composition may comprise afluoropolymer. The fluoropolymer may be a copolymer wherein bothmonomers are highly fluorinated. Some of the monomers of thefluoropolymer may be fluoroethylene. In one embodiment, the polymerchemical composition comprises an amorphous fluoropolymer, such as, butnot limited to, Teflon AF (commercially available from DuPont). Inanother embodiment, the polymer chemical composition comprisesperfluoroalkoxy (PFA) resin particles, such as, but not limited to,Teflon PFA TE-7224 (commercially available from DuPont).

In another embodiment, the polymer chemical composition may comprise asilicone resin. The silicone resin may be a highly branched3-dimensional polymer which is formed by branched, cage-likeoligosiloxanes with the general formula of R_(n)Si(X)_(m)O_(y), where Ris a non reactive substituent, usually methyl or phenyl, and X is OH orH. While not wishing to be bound by theory, it is believed that curingof the resin occurs through a condensation reaction of Si—OH moietieswith a formation of Si—O—Si bonds. The silicone resin may have at leastone of four possible functional siloxane monomeric units, which includeM-resins, D-resins, T-resins, and Q-resins, wherein M-resins refer toresins with the general formula R₃SiO, D-resins refer to resins with thegeneral formula R₂SiO₂, T-resins refer to resins with the generalformula RSiO₃, and Q-resins refer to resins with the general formulaSiO₄ (a fused quartz). In some embodiments resins are made of D and Tunits (DT resins) or from M and Q units (MQ resins). In otherembodiments, other combinations (MDT, MTQ, QDT) are also used.

In one embodiment, the polymer chemical composition comprisesphenylmethyl silicone resins due to their higher thermal stabilitycompared to methyl or phenyl silicone resins. The ratio of phenyl tomethyl moieties in the silicone resins may be varied in the polymerchemical composition. In one embodiment, the ratio of phenyl to methylis about 1.2. In another embodiment, the ratio of phenyl to methyl isabout 0.84. In other embodiments, the ratio of phenyl to methyl moietiesmay be about 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, or 1.5. In oneembodiment, the silicone resin is DC 255 (commercially available fromDow Corning). In another embodiment, the silicone resin is DC806A(commercially available from Dow Corning). In other embodiments, thepolymer chemical composition may comprise any of the DC series resins(commercially available for Dow Corning), and/or Hardsil Series AP andAR resins (commercially available from Gelest). The silicone resins canbe used without coupling agent or with coupling agent.

In another embodiment, the polymer chemical composition may comprisesilsesquioxane-based polymers, such as but not limited to T-214(commercially available from Honeywell), SST-3M01 (commerciallyavailable from Gelest), POSS Imiclear (commercially available fromHybrid Plastics), and FOX-25 (commercially available from Dow Corning).In one embodiment, the polymer chemical composition may comprise asilanol moiety.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the low-friction coating 120 may beapplied in a multi stage process, wherein the glass body 102 iscontacted with the coupling agent solution to form the coupling agentlayer 180 (as described above), and dried, and then contacted with apolymer chemical composition solution, such as a polymer or polymerprecursor solution, such as by a submersion process, or alternatively,the polymer layer 170 may be applied by a spray or other suitable means,and dried, and then cured at high temperatures. Alternatively, if acoupling agent layer 180 is not used, the polymer chemical compositionof the polymer layer 170 may be directly applied to the exterior surface108 of the glass body 102. In another embodiment, the polymer chemicalcomposition and the coupling agent may be mixed in the low-frictioncoating 120, and a solution comprising the polymer chemical compositionand the coupling agent may be applied to the glass body 102 in a singlecoating step.

In one embodiment, the polymer chemical composition comprises apolyimide wherein a polyamic acid solution is applied over the couplingagent layer 180. In other embodiments, a polyamic acid derivative may beused, such as, for example, a polyamic acid salt, a polyamic acid ester,or the like. In one embodiment, the polyamic acid solution may comprisea mixture of 1 vol % polyamic acid and 99 vol % organic solvent. Theorganic solvent may comprise a mixture of toluene and at least one ofN,N-Dimethylacetamide (DMAc), N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF), and1-Methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) solvents, or a mixture thereof. In oneembodiment the organic solvent solution comprises about 85 vol % of atleast one of DMAc, DMF, and NMP, and about 15 vol % toluene. However,other suitable organic solvents may be used. The coated glass container100 may then be dried at around 150° C. for about 20 minutes, or anytime and temperature sufficient to adequately liberate the organicsolvent present in the low-friction coating 120.

In the layered low-friction coating embodiment, after the glass body 102is contacted with the coupling agent to form the coupling agent layer180 and polyamic acid solution to form the polymer layer 170, the coatedglass container 100 may be cured at high temperatures. The coated glasscontainer 100 may be cured at 300° C. for about 30 minutes or less, ormay be cured at a temperature higher than 300° C., such as at least 320°C., 340° C., 360° C., 380° C., or 400° C. for a shorter time. It isbelieved, without being bound by theory, that the curing step imidizesthe polyamic acid in the polymer layer 170 by reaction of carboxylicacid moieties and amide moieties to create a polymer layer 170comprising a polyimide. The curing may also promote bonds between thepolyimide and the coupling agent. The coated glass container 100 is thencooled to room temperature.

Furthermore, without being bound by limitation, it is believed that thecuring of the coupling agent, polymer chemical composition, or both,drives off volatile materials, such as water and other organicmolecules. As such, these volatile materials that are liberated duringcuring are not present when the article, if used as a container, isthermally treated (such as for depyrogenation) or contacted by thematerial in which it is a package for, such as a pharmaceutical. Itshould be understood that the curing processes described herein areseparate heating treatments than other heating treatments describedherein, such as those heating treatments similar or identical toprocesses in the pharmaceutical packaging industry, such asdepyrogenation or the heating treatments used to define thermalstability, as described herein.

The glass containers to which the low-friction coating 120 may beapplied may be formed from a variety of different glass compositions.The specific composition of the glass article may be selected accordingto the specific application such that the glass has a desired set ofphysical properties.

The glass containers may be formed from a glass composition which has acoefficient of thermal expansion in the range from about 25×10⁻⁷/° C. to80×10⁻⁷/° C. For example, in some embodiments described herein, theglass body 102 is formed from alkali aluminosilicate glass compositionswhich are amenable to strengthening by ion exchange. Such compositionsgenerally include a combination of SiO₂, Al₂O₃, at least one alkalineearth oxide, and one or more alkali oxides, such as Na₂O and/or K₂O. Insome of these embodiments, the glass composition may be free from boronand compounds containing boron. In some other embodiments the glasscompositions may further comprise minor amounts of one or moreadditional oxides such as, for example, SnO₂, ZrO₂, ZnO, TiO₂, As₂O₃, orthe like. These components may be added as fining agents and/or tofurther enhance the chemical durability of the glass composition. Inanother embodiment, the glass surface may comprise a metal oxide coatingcomprising SnO₂, ZrO₂, ZnO, TiO₂, As₂O₃, or the like

In some embodiments described herein, the glass body 102 is strengthenedsuch as by ion-exchange strengthening, herein referred to as“ion-exchanged glass”. For example, the glass body 102 may have acompressive stress of greater than or equal to about 300 MPa or evengreater than or equal to about 350 MPa. In some embodiments, thecompressive stress may be in a range from about 300 MPa to about 900MPa. However, it should be understood that, in some embodiments, thecompressive stress in the glass may be less than 300 MPa or greater than900 MPa. In some embodiments, the glass body 102 may have a depth oflayer greater than or equal to 20 μm. In some of these embodiments, thedepth of layer may be greater than 50 μm or even greater than or equalto 75 μm. In still other embodiments, the depth of the layer may be upto or greater than 100 μm. The ion-exchange strengthening may beperformed in a molten salt bath maintained at temperatures from about350° C. to about 500° C. To achieve the desired compressive stress, theglass container (uncoated) may be immersed in the salt bath for lessthan about 30 hours or even less than about 20 hours. For example, inone embodiment the glass container is immersed in a 100% KNO₃ salt bathat 450° C. for about 8 hours.

In one particularly exemplary embodiment, the glass body 102 may beformed from an ion exchangeable glass composition described in pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/660,394 filed Oct. 25, 2012 andentitled “Glass Compositions with Improved Chemical and MechanicalDurability” assigned to Corning, Incorporated.

However it should be understood that the coated glass containers 100described herein may be formed from other glass compositions including,without limitation, ion-exchangeable glass compositions and non-ionexchangeable glass compositions. For example, in some embodiments theglass container may be formed from Type 1B glass compositions such as,for example, Schott Type 1B aluminosilicate glass.

In some embodiments described herein, the glass article may be formedfrom a glass composition which meets the criteria for pharmaceuticalglasses described by regulatory agencies such as the USP (United StatesPharmacopoeia), the EP (European Pharmacopeia), and the JP (JapanesePharmacopeia) based on their hydrolytic resistance. Per USP 660 and EP7, borosilicate glasses meet the Type I criteria and are routinely usedfor parenteral packaging. Examples of borosilicate glass include, butnot limited to Corning® Pyrex® 7740, 7800 and Wheaton 180, 200, and 400,Schott Duran, Schott Fiolax, KIMAX® N-51A, Gerrescheimer GX-51 Flint andothers. Soda-lime glass meets the Type III criteria and is acceptable inpackaging of dry powders which are subsequently dissolved to makesolutions or buffers. Type III glasses are also suitable for packagingliquid formulations that prove to be insensitive to alkali. Examples ofType III soda lime glass include Wheaton 800 and 900. De-alkalizedsoda-lime glasses have higher levels of sodium hydroxide and calciumoxide and meet the Type II criteria. These glasses are less resistant toleaching than Type I glasses but more resistant than Type III glasses.Type II glasses can be used for products that remain below a pH of 7 fortheir shelf life. Examples include ammonium sulfate treated soda limeglasses. These pharmaceutical glasses have varied chemical compositionsand have a coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CTE) in the range of20-85×10⁻⁷° C.⁻¹.

When the coated glass articles described herein are glass containers,the glass body 102 of the coated glass containers 100 may take on avariety of different forms. For example, the glass bodies describedherein may be used to form coated glass containers 100 such as vials,ampoules, cartridges, syringe bodies and/or any other glass containerfor storing pharmaceutical compositions. Moreover, the ability tochemically strengthen the glass containers prior to coating can beutilized to further improve the mechanical durability of the glasscontainers. Accordingly, it should be understood that, in at least oneembodiment, the glass containers may be ion exchange strengthened priorto application of the low-friction coating. Alternatively, otherstrengthening methods such as heat tempering, flame polishing, andlaminating, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,201,965, could be used tostrengthen the glass before coating.

In one embodiment, the coupling agent comprises a silane chemicalcomposition, such as an alkoxysilane, which may improve the adhesion ofthe polymer chemical composition to the glass body. Without being boundby theory, it is believed that alkoxysilane molecules hydrolyze rapidlyin water forming isolated monomers, cyclic oligomers, and largeintramolecular cyclics. In various embodiments, the control over whichspecies predominates may be determined by silane type, concentration,pH, temperature, storage condition, and time. For example, at lowconcentrations in aqueous solution, aminopropyltrialkoxysilane (APS) maybe stable and form trisilanol monomers and very low molecular weightoligomeric cyclics.

It is believed, still without being bound by theory, that the reactionof one or more silanes chemical compositions to the glass body mayinvolve several steps. As shown in FIG. 31, in some embodiments,following hydrolysis of the silane chemical composition, a reactivesilanol moiety may be formed, which can condense with other silanolmoieties, for example, those on the surface of a substrate, such as aglass body. After the first and second hydrolysable moieties arehydrolyzed, a condensation reaction may be initialized. In someembodiments, the tendency toward self condensation can be controlled byusing fresh solutions, alcoholic solvents, dilution, and by carefulselection of pH ranges. For example, silanetriols are most stable at pH3-6, but condense rapidly at pH 7-9.3, and partial condensation ofsilanol monomers may produce silsesquioxanes. As shown in FIG. 31, thesilanol moieties of the formed species may form hydrogen bonds withsilanol moieties on the substrate, and during drying or curing acovalent bond may be formed with the substrate with elimination ofwater. For example, a moderate cure cycle (110° C. for 15 min) may leavesilanol moieties remaining in free form and, along with any silaneorganofunctionality, may bond with the subsequent topcoat, providingimproved adhesion.

In some embodiments, the one or more silane chemical compositions of thecoupling agent may comprise an amine moiety. Still without being boundby theory, it is believed that this amine moiety may act as a basecatalyst in the hydrolysis and co-condensation polymerization andenhance the adsorption rate of the silanes having an amine moiety on aglass surface. It may also create a high pH (9.0-10.0) in aqueoussolution that conditions the glass surface and increases density ofsurface silanol moieties. Strong interaction with water and proticsolvents maintains solubility and stability of a silane having an aminemoiety chemical composition, such as APS.

In an exemplary embodiment, the glass body may comprise ion-exchangedglass and the coupling agent may be a silane. In some embodiments,adhesion of the low-friction coating to an ion-exchanged glass body maystronger than adhesion of the low-friction coating to anon-ion-exchanged glass body. It is believed, without being bound bytheory, that any of several aspects of ion-exchanged glass may promotebonding and/or adhesion, as compared with non-ion-exchanged glass.First, ion-exchanged glass may have enhanced chemical/hydrolyticstability that may affect stability of the coupling agent and/or itsadhesion to glass surface. Non-ion-exchanged glass typically hasinferior hydrolytic stability and under humid and/or elevatedtemperature conditions, alkali metals could migrate out of the glassbody to the interface of the glass surface and coupling agent layer (ifpresent), or even migrate into the coupling agent layer, if present. Ifalkali metals migrate, as described above, and there is a change in pH,hydrolysis of Si—O—Si bonds at the glass/coupling agent layer interfaceor in the coupling agent layer itself may weaken either the couplingagent mechanical properties or its adhesion to the glass. Second, whenion-exchanged glasses are exposed to strong oxidant baths, such aspotassium nitrite baths, at elevated temperatures, such as 400° C. to450° C., and removed, organic chemical compositions on the surface ofthe glass are removed, making it particularly well suited for silanecoupling agents without further cleaning. For example, anon-ion-exchanged glass may have to be exposed to an additional surfacecleaning treatment, adding time and expense to the process.

In one exemplary embodiment, the coupling agent may comprise at leastone silane comprising an amine moiety and the polymer chemicalcomposition may comprise a polyimide chemical composition. Now referringto FIG. 32, without being bound by theory, it is believed that theinteraction between this amine moiety interaction and the polyamic acidprecursor of the polyimide follows a stepwise process. As shown in FIG.32, the first step is formation of a polyamic acid salt between acarboxyl moiety of the polyamic acid and the amine moiety. The secondstep is thermal conversion of the salt into an amide moiety. The thirdsstep is further conversion of the amide moiety into an imide moiety withscission of the polymer amide bonds. The result is a covalent imideattachment of a shortened polymer chain (polyimide chain) to an aminemoiety of the coupling agent, as shown in FIG. 32.

Referring collectively to FIGS. 7 and 8, FIG. 7 contains a process flowdiagram 500 of a method for producing a coated glass container 100having a low-friction coating and FIG. 8 schematically depicts theprocess described in the flow diagram. In a first step 502, glass tubestock 1000 formed from an ion-exchangeable glass composition isinitially shaped into glass containers 900 (specifically glass vials inthe embodiment depicted) using conventional shaping and formingtechniques. In step 504, the glass containers 900 are loaded into amagazine 604 using a mechanical magazine loader 602. The magazine loader602 may be a mechanical gripping device, such as a caliper or the like,which is capable of gripping multiple glass containers at one time.Alternatively, the gripping device may utilize a vacuum system to gripthe glass containers 900. The magazine loader 602 may be coupled to arobotic arm or other, similar device capable of positioning the magazineloader 602 with respect to the glass containers 900 and the magazine604.

In a next step 506, the magazine 604 loaded with glass containers 900 istransferred with a mechanical conveyor, such as a conveyor belt 606,overhead crane or the like, to a cassette loading area. Thereafter, instep 508, the magazine 604 is loaded into a cassette 608. The cassette608 is constructed to hold a plurality of magazines such that a largenumber of glass containers can be processed simultaneously. Eachmagazine 604 is positioned in the cassette 608 utilizing a cassetteloader 610. The cassette loader 610 may be a mechanical gripping device,such as a caliper or the like, which is capable of gripping one or moremagazines at a time. Alternatively, the gripping device may utilize avacuum system to grip the magazines 604. The cassette loader 610 may becoupled to a robotic arm or other, similar device capable of positioningthe cassette loader 610 with respect to the cassette 608 and themagazine 604.

In a next step 510, the cassette 608 containing the magazines 604 andglass containers 900 is transferred to an ion exchange station andloaded into an ion exchange tank 614 to facilitate chemicallystrengthening the glass containers 900. The cassette 608 is transferredto the ion exchange station with a cassette transfer device 612. Thecassette transfer device 612 may be a mechanical gripping device, suchas a caliper or the like, which is capable of gripping the cassette 608.Alternatively, the gripping device may utilize a vacuum system to gripthe cassette 608. The cassette transfer device 612 and attached cassette608 may be automatically conveyed from the cassette loading area to theion exchange station with an overhead rail system, such as a gantrycrane or the like. Alternatively, the cassette transfer device 612 andattached cassette 608 may be conveyed from the cassette loading area tothe ion exchange station with a robotic arm. In yet another embodiment,the cassette transfer device 612 and attached cassette 608 may beconveyed from the cassette loading area to the ion exchange station witha conveyor and, thereafter, transferred from the conveyor to the ionexchange tank 614 with a robotic arm or an overhead crane.

Once the cassette transfer device 612 and attached cassette are at theion exchange station, the cassette 608 and the glass containers 900contained therein may be preheated prior to immersing the cassette 608and the glass containers 900 in the ion exchange tank 614. The cassette608 may be preheated to a temperature greater than room temperature andless than or equal to the temperature of the molten salt bath in the ionexchange tank. For example, the glass containers may be preheated to atemperature from about 300° C.-500° C.

The ion exchange tank 614 contains a bath of molten salt 616, such as amolten alkali salt, such as KNO₃, NaNO₃ and/or combinations thereof. Inone embodiment, the bath of molten salt is 100% molten KNO₃ which ismaintained at a temperature greater than or equal to about 350° C. andless than or equal to about 500° C. However, it should be understoodthat baths of molten alkali salt having various other compositionsand/or temperatures may also be used to facilitate ion exchange of theglass containers.

In step 512, the glass containers 900 are ion exchange strengthened inthe ion exchange tank 614. Specifically, the glass containers areimmersed in the molten salt and held there for a period of timesufficient to achieve the desired compressive stress and depth of layerin the glass containers 900. For example, in one embodiment, the glasscontainers 900 may be held in the ion exchange tank 614 for a timeperiod sufficient to achieve a depth of layer of up to about 100 μm witha compressive stress of at least about 300 MPa or even 350 MPa. Theholding period may be less than 30 hours or even less than 20 hours.However it should be understood that the time period with which theglass containers are held in the tank 614 may vary depending on thecomposition of the glass container, the composition of the bath ofmolten salt 616, the temperature of the bath of molten salt 616, and thedesired depth of layer and the desired compressive stress.

After the glass containers 900 are ion exchange strengthened, thecassette 608 and glass containers 900 are removed from the ion exchangetank 614 using the cassette transfer device 612 in conjunction with arobotic arm or overhead crane. During removal from the ion exchange tank614, the cassette 608 and the glass containers 900 are suspended overthe ion exchange tank 614 and the cassette 608 is rotated about ahorizontal axis such that any molten salt remaining in the glasscontainers 900 is emptied back into the ion exchange tank 614.Thereafter, the cassette 608 is rotated back to its initial position andthe glass containers are allowed to cool prior to being rinsed.

The cassette 608 and glass containers 900 are then transferred to arinse station with the cassette transfer device 612. This transfer maybe performed with a robotic arm or overhead crane, as described above,or alternatively, with an automatic conveyor such as a conveyor belt orthe like. In a next step 514, the cassette 608 and glass containers 900are lowered into a rinse tank 618 containing a water bath 620 to removeany excess salt from the surfaces of the glass containers 900. Thecassette 608 and glass containers 900 may be lowered into the rinse tank618 with a robotic arm, overhead crane or similar device which couplesto the cassette transfer device 612. The cassette 608 and glasscontainers 900 are then withdrawn from the rinse tank 618, suspendedover the rinse tank 618, and the cassette 608 is rotated about ahorizontal axis such that any rinse water remaining in the glasscontainers 900 is emptied back into the rinse tank 618. In someembodiments, the rinsing operation may be performed multiple timesbefore the cassette 608 and glass containers 900 are moved to the nextprocessing station.

In one particular embodiment, the cassette 608 and the glass containers900 are dipped in a water bath at least twice. For example, the cassette608 may be dipped in a first water bath and, subsequently, a second,different water bath to ensure that all residual alkali salts areremoved from the surface of the glass article. The water from the firstwater bath may be sent to waste water treatment or to an evaporator.

In a next step 516, the magazines 604 are removed from the cassette 608with the cassette loader 610. Thereafter, in step 518, the glasscontainers 900 are unloaded from the magazine 604 with the magazineloader 602 and transferred to a washing station. In step 520, the glasscontainers are washed with a jet of de-ionized water 624 emitted from anozzle 622. The jet of de-ionized water 624 may be mixed with compressedair.

Optionally, in step 521 (not depicted in FIG. 8), the glass containers900 are transferred to an inspection station where the glass containersare inspected for flaws, debris, discoloration and the like.

In step 522, the glass containers 900 are transferred to the coatingstation with the magazine loader 602 where the low-friction coating isapplied to the glass containers 900. In some embodiments, theapplication of the low-friction coating may include the application of acoupling agent directly to the surface of the glass container and apolymer chemical composition on the coupling agent, as described above.In these embodiments, the glass containers 900 are partially immersed ina first dip tank 626 which contains the coupling agent 628 to coat theexterior surface of the glass containers with the coupling agent.Alternatively, the coupling agent may be spray applied. Thereafter, theglass containers are withdrawn from the first dip tank 626 and thecoupling agent is dried. In some embodiments, such as embodiments wherethe coupling agent comprises one or more silane chemical compositions asdescribed above, the glass containers 900 may be conveyed to an ovenwhere the glass containers 900 are dried at about 120° C. for 15minutes.

While the process schematically depicted in FIG. 8 includes a step ofcoating the outside of the glass containers with a coupling agent, itshould be understood that this step is only used for those coatingcompositions in which a coupling agent is needed. In other embodimentsof low-friction coatings in which a coupling agent is not needed, thestep of applying the coupling agent may be omitted.

Thereafter, the glass containers 900 are conveyed to the coating diptank 630 with the magazine loader 602. The coating dip tank 630 isfilled with the polymer chemical composition coating solution 632comprising a polymer chemical composition described herein above. Theglass containers are at least partially immersed in the polymer chemicalcomposition coating solution 632 to coat the polymer chemicalcomposition onto the glass containers, either directly onto the exteriorsurface of the glass containers 900 or onto the coupling agent which isalready coated on the glass containers 900. Thereafter, the polymerchemical composition solution is dried to remove any solvents. In oneembodiment, where the polymer chemical composition coating solutioncontains NOVASTRAT® 800 as described above, the coating solution may bedried by conveying the glass containers 900 to an oven and heating theglass containers at 150° C. for 20 minutes. Once the polymer chemicalcomposition coatings solution is dried, the glass containers 900 may(optionally) be re-dipped into the polymer chemical composition coatingdip tank 630 to apply one or more additional layers of polymer chemicalcomposition. In some embodiments, the polymer chemical compositioncoating is applied to the entire external surface of the container,while in other embodiments the low-friction coating is only applied to aportion of the external surface of the container. While the couplingagent and polymer chemical composition are described herein, in someembodiments, as being applied in two separate steps, it should beunderstood that in an alternative embodiment, the coupling agent andlow-friction coating are applied in a single step, such as when thecoupling agent and the polymer chemical composition are combined in amixture.

Once the polymer chemical composition coating solution 632 has beenapplied to the glass containers 900, the polymer chemical composition iscured on the glass containers 900. The curing process depends on thetype of polymer chemical composition coating applied to the coatingprocess and may include thermally curing the coating, curing the coatingwith UV light, and/or a combination thereof. In the embodimentsdescribed herein where the polymer chemical composition coatingcomprises a polyimide such as the polyimide formed by the NOVASTRAT® 800polyamic acid coating solution described above, the glass containers 900are conveyed to an oven 634 where they are heated from 150° C. toapproximately 350° C. over a period of about 5 to 30 minutes. Uponremoval of the glass containers from the oven, the polymer chemicalcomposition coating is cured thereby producing a coated glass containerwith a low-friction coating.

After the low-friction coating has been applied to the glass container,the coated glass containers 100 are transferred to a packaging processin step 524 where the containers are filled and/or to an additionalinspection station.

Various properties of the coated glass containers (i.e., coefficient offriction, horizontal compression strength, 4-point bend strength) may bemeasured when the coated glass containers are in an as-coated condition(i.e., following application of the coating without any additionaltreatments) or following one or more processing treatments, such asthose similar or identical to treatments performed on a pharmaceuticalfilling line, including, without limitation, washing, lyophilization,depyrogenation, autoclaving, or the like.

Depyrogenation is a process wherein pyrogens are removed from asubstance. Depyrogenation of glass articles, such as pharmaceuticalpackages, can be performed by a thermal treatment applied to a sample inwhich the sample is heated to an elevated temperature for a period oftime. For example, depyrogenation may include heating a glass containerto a temperature of between about 250° C. and about 380° C. for a timeperiod from about 30 seconds to about 72 hours, including, withoutlimitation, 20 minutes, 30 minutes 40 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 4 hours,8 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours. Following thethermal treatment, the glass container is cooled to room temperature.One conventional depyrogenation condition commonly employed in thepharmaceutical industry is thermal treatment at a temperature of about250° C. for about 30 minutes. However, it is contemplated that the timeof thermal treatment may be reduced if higher temperatures are utilized.The coated glass containers, as described herein, may be exposed toelevated temperatures for a period of time. The elevated temperaturesand time periods of heating described herein may or may not besufficient to depyrogenate a glass container. However, it should beunderstood that some of the temperatures and times of heating describedherein are sufficient to dehydrogenate a coated glass container, such asthe coated glass containers described herein. For example, as describedherein, the coated glass containers may be exposed to temperatures ofabout 260° C., about 270° C., about 280° C., about 290° C., about 300°C., about 310° C., about 320° C., about 330° C., about 340° C., about350° C., about 360° C., about 370° C., about 380° C., about 390° C., orabout 400° C., for a period of time of 30 minutes.

As used herein, lyophilization conditions (i.e., freeze drying) refer toa process in which a sample is filled with a liquid that containsprotein and then frozen at −100° C., followed by water sublimation for20 hours at −15° C. under vacuum.

As used herein, autoclave conditions refer to steam purging a sample for10 minutes at 100° C., followed by a 20 minute dwelling period whereinthe sample is exposed to a 121° C. environment, followed by 30 minutesof heat treatment at 121° C.

The coefficient of friction (μ) of the portion of the coated glasscontainer with the low-friction coating may have a lower coefficient offriction than a surface of an uncoated glass container formed from asame glass composition. A coefficient of friction (μ) is a quantitativemeasurement of the friction between two surfaces and is a function ofthe mechanical and chemical properties of the first and second surfaces,including surface roughness, as well as environmental conditions suchas, but not limited to, temperature and humidity. As used herein, acoefficient of friction measurement for coated glass container 100 isreported as the coefficient of friction between the outer surface of afirst glass container (having an outer diameter of between about 16.00mm and about 17.00 mm) and the outer surface of second glass containerwhich is identical to the first glass container, wherein the first andsecond glass containers have the same body and the same coatingcomposition (when applied) and have been exposed to the sameenvironments prior to fabrication, during fabrication, and afterfabrication. Unless otherwise denoted herein, the coefficient offriction refers to the maximum coefficient of friction measured with anormal load of 30 N measured on a vial-on-vial testing jig, as describedherein. However, it should be understood that a coated glass containerwhich exhibits a maximum coefficient of friction at a specific appliedload will also exhibit the same or better (i.e., lower) maximumcoefficient of friction at a lesser load. For example, if a coated glasscontainer exhibits a maximum coefficient of friction of 0.5 or lowerunder an applied load of 50 N, the coated glass container will alsoexhibit a maximum coefficient of friction of 0.5 or lower under anapplied load of 25 N.

In the embodiments described herein, the coefficient of friction of theglass containers (both coated and uncoated) is measured with avial-on-vial testing jig. The testing jig 200 is schematically depictedin FIG. 9. The same apparatus may also be used to measure the frictiveforce between two glass containers positioned in the jig. Thevial-on-vial testing jig 200 comprises a first clamp 212 and a secondclamp 222 arranged in a cross configuration. The first clamp 212comprises a first securing arm 214 attached to a first base 216. Thefirst securing arm 214 attaches to the first glass container 210 andholds the first glass container 210 stationary relative to the firstclamp 212. Similarly, the second clamp 222 comprises a second securingarm 224 attached to a second base 226. The second securing arm 224attaches to the second glass container 220 and holds it stationaryrelative to the second clamp 222. The first glass container 210 ispositioned on the first clamp 212 and the second glass container 220 ispositioned of the second clamp 222 such that the long axis of the firstglass container 210 and the long axis of the second glass container 220are positioned at about a 90° angle relative to one another and on ahorizontal plane defined by the x-y axis.

A first glass container 210 is positioned in contact with the secondglass container 220 at a contact point 230. A normal force is applied ina direction orthogonal to the horizontal plane defined by the x-y axis.The normal force may be applied by a static weight or other forceapplied to the second clamp 222 upon a stationary first clamp 212. Forexample, a weight may be positioned on the second base 226 and the firstbase 216 may be placed on a stable surface, thus inducing a measurableforce between the first glass container 210 and the second glasscontainer 220 at the contact point 230. Alternatively, the force may beapplied with a mechanical apparatus, such as a UMT (universal mechanicaltester) machine.

The first clamp 212 or second clamp 222 may be moved relative to theother in a direction which is at a 45° angle with the long axis of thefirst glass container 210 and the second glass container 220. Forexample, the first clamp 212 may be held stationary and the second clamp222 may be moved such that the second glass container 220 moves acrossthe first glass container 210 in the direction of the x-axis. A similarsetup is described by R. L. De Rosa et al., in “Scratch ResistantPolyimide Coatings for Alumino Silicate Glass surfaces” in The Journalof Adhesion, 78: 113-127, 2002. To measure the coefficient of friction,the force required to move the second clamp 222 and the normal forceapplied to first and second glass containers 210,220 are measured withload cells and the coefficient of friction is calculated as the quotientof the frictive force and the normal force. The jig is operated in anenvironment of 25° C. and 50% relative humidity.

In the embodiments described herein, the portion of the coated glasscontainer with the low-friction coating has a coefficient of friction ofless than or equal to about 0.7 relative to a like-coated glasscontainer, as determined with the vial-on-vial jig described above. Inother embodiments, the coefficient of friction may be less than or equalto about 0.6, or even less than or equal to about 0.5. In someembodiments, the portion of the coated glass container with thelow-friction coating has a coefficient of friction of less than or equalto about 0.4 or even less than or equal to about 0.3. Coated glasscontainers with coefficients of friction less than or equal to about 0.7generally exhibit improved resistance to frictive damage and, as aresult, have improved mechanical properties. For example, conventionalglass containers (without a low-friction coating) may have a coefficientof friction of greater than 0.7.

In some embodiments described herein, the coefficient of friction of theportion of the coated glass container with the low-friction coating isat least 20% less than a coefficient of friction of a surface of anuncoated glass container formed from a same glass composition. Forexample, the coefficient of friction of the portion of the coated glasscontainer with the low-friction coating may be at least 20% less, atleast 25% less, at least 30% less, at least 40% less, or even at least50% less than a coefficient of friction of a surface of an uncoatedglass container formed from a same glass composition.

In some embodiments, the portion of the coated glass container with thelow-friction coating may have a coefficient of friction of less than orequal to about 0.7 after exposure to a temperature of about 260° C.,about 270° C., about 280° C., about 290° C., about 300° C., about 310°C., about 320° C., about 330° C., about 340° C., about 350° C., about360° C., about 370° C., about 380° C., about 390° C., or about 400° C.,for a period of time of 30 minutes. In other embodiments, the portion ofthe coated glass container with the low-friction coating may have acoefficient of friction of less than or equal to about 0.7, (i.e., lessthan or equal to about 0.6, less than or equal to about 0.5, less thanor equal to about 0.4, or even less than or equal to about 0.3) afterexposure to a temperature of about 260° C., about 270° C., about 280°C., about 290° C., about 300° C., about 310° C., about 320° C., about330° C., about 340° C., about 350° C., about 360° C., about 370° C.,about 380° C., about 390° C., or about 400° C., for a period of time of30 minutes. In some embodiments, the coefficient of friction of theportion of the coated glass container with the low-friction coating maynot increase by more than about 30% after exposure to a temperature ofabout 260° C. for 30 minutes. In other embodiments, coefficient offriction of the portion of the coated glass container with thelow-friction coating may not increase by more than about 30% (i.e.,about 25%, about 20%, about 15%, or event about 10%) after exposure to atemperature of about 260° C., about 270° C., about 280° C., about 290°C., about 300° C., about 310° C., about 320° C., about 330° C., about340° C., about 350° C., about 360° C., about 370° C., about 380° C.,about 390° C., or about 400° C., for a period of time of 30 minutes. Inother embodiments, coefficient of friction of the portion of the coatedglass container with the low-friction coating may not increase by morethan about 0.5 (i.e., about 0.45, about 0.04, about 0.35, about 0.3,about 0.25, about 0.2, about 0.15, about 0.1, or event about 0.5) afterexposure to a temperature of about 260° C., about 270° C., about 280°C., about 290° C., about 300° C., about 310° C., about 320° C., about330° C., about 340° C., about 350° C., about 360° C., about 370° C.,about 380° C., about 390° C., or about 400° C., for a period of time of30 minutes. In some embodiments, the coefficient of friction of theportion of the coated glass container with the low-friction coating maynot increase at all after exposure to a temperature of about 260° C.,about 270° C., about 280° C., about 290° C., about 300° C., about 310°C., about 320° C., about 330° C., about 340° C., about 350° C., about360° C., about 370° C., about 380° C., about 390° C., or about 400° C.,for a period of time of 30 minutes.

In some embodiments, the portion of the coated glass container with thelow-friction coating may have a coefficient of friction of less than orequal to about 0.7 after being submerged in a water bath at atemperature of about 70° C. for 10 minutes. In other embodiments, theportion of the coated glass container with the low-friction coating mayhave a coefficient of friction of less than or equal to about 0.7,(i.e., less than or equal to about 0.6, less than or equal to about 0.5,less than or equal to about 0.4, or even less than or equal to about0.3) after being submerged in a water bath at a temperature of about 70°C. for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 50minutes, or even 1 hour. In some embodiments, the coefficient offriction of the portion of the coated glass container with thelow-friction coating may not increase by more than about 30% after beingsubmerged in a water bath at a temperature of about 70° C. for 10minutes. In other embodiments, coefficient of friction of the portion ofthe coated glass container with the low-friction coating may notincrease by more than about 30% (i.e., about 25%, about 20%, about 15%,or event about 10%) after being submerged in a water bath at atemperature of about 70° C. for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30minutes, 40 minutes, 50 minutes, or even 1 hour. In some embodiments,the coefficient of friction of the portion of the coated glass containerwith the low-friction coating may not increase at all after beingsubmerged in a water bath at a temperature of about 70° C. for 5minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, 50 minutes, oreven 1 hour.

In some embodiments, the portion of the coated glass container with thelow-friction coating may have a coefficient of friction of less than orequal to about 0.7 after exposure to lyophilization conditions. In otherembodiments, the portion of the coated glass container with thelow-friction coating may have a coefficient of friction of less than orequal to about 0.7, (i.e., less than or equal to about 0.6, less than orequal to about 0.5, less than or equal to about 0.4, or even less thanor equal to about 0.3) after exposure to lyophilization conditions. Insome embodiments, the coefficient of friction of the portion of thecoated glass container with the low-friction coating may not increase bymore than about 30% after exposure to lyophilization conditions. Inother embodiments, coefficient of friction of the portion of the coatedglass container with the low-friction coating may not increase by morethan about 30% (i.e., about 25%, about 20%, about 15%, or event about10%) after exposure to lyophilization conditions. In some embodiments,the coefficient of friction of the portion of the coated glass containerwith the low-friction coating may not increase at all after exposure tolyophilization conditions.

In some embodiments, the portion of the coated glass container with thelow-friction coating may have a coefficient of friction of less than orequal to about 0.7 after exposure to autoclave conditions. In otherembodiments, the portion of the coated glass container with thelow-friction coating may have a coefficient of friction of less than orequal to about 0.7, (i.e., less than or equal to about 0.6, less than orequal to about 0.5, less than or equal to about 0.4, or even less thanor equal to about 0.3) after exposure to autoclave conditions. In someembodiments, the coefficient of friction of the portion of the coatedglass container with the low-friction coating may not increase by morethan about 30% after exposure to autoclave conditions. In otherembodiments, coefficient of friction of the portion of the coated glasscontainer with the low-friction coating may not increase by more thanabout 30% (i.e., about 25%, about 20%, about 15%, or event about 10%)after exposure to autoclave conditions. In some embodiments, thecoefficient of friction of the portion of the coated glass containerwith the low-friction coating may not increase at all after exposure toautoclave conditions.

The coated glass containers described herein have a horizontalcompression strength. Referring to FIG. 1, the horizontal compressionstrength, as described herein, is measured by positioning the coatedglass container 100 horizontally between two parallel platens which areoriented in parallel to the long axis of the glass container. Amechanical load is then applied to the coated glass container 100 withthe platens in the direction perpendicular to the long axis of the glasscontainer. The load rate for vial compression is 0.5 in/min, meaningthat the platens move towards each other at a rate of 0.5 in/min. Thehorizontal compression strength is measured at 25° C. and 50% relativehumidity. A measurement of the horizontal compression strength can begiven as a failure probability at a selected normal compression load. Asused herein, failure occurs when the glass container ruptures under ahorizontal compression in least 50% of samples. In some embodiments, acoated glass container may have a horizontal compression strength atleast 10%, 20%, or 30% greater than an uncoated vial.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 9, the horizontal compression strengthmeasurement may also be performed on an abraded glass container.Specifically, operation of the testing jig 200 may create damage on thecoated glass container outer surface 122, such as a surface scratch orabrasion that weakens the strength of the coated glass container 100.The glass container is then subjected to the horizontal compressionprocedure described above, wherein the container is placed between twoplatens with the scratch pointing outward parallel to the platens. Thescratch can be characterized by the selected normal pressure applied bya vial-on-vial jig and the scratch length. Unless identified otherwise,scratches for abraded glass containers for the horizontal compressionprocedure are characterized by a scratch length of 20 mm created by anormal load of 30 N.

The coated glass containers can be evaluated for horizontal compressionstrength following a heat treatment. The heat treatment may be exposureto a temperature of about 260° C., about 270° C., about 280° C., about290° C., about 300° C., about 310° C., about 320° C., about 330° C.,about 340° C., about 350° C., about 360° C., about 370° C., about 380°C., about 390° C., or about 400° C., for a period of time of 30 minutes.In some embodiments, the horizontal compression strength of the coatedglass container is not reduced by more than about 20%, 30%, or even 40%after being exposed to a heat treatment, such as those described above,and then being abraded, as described above. In one embodiment, thehorizontal compression strength of the coated glass container is notreduced by more than about 20% after being exposed to a heat treatmentof about 260° C., about 270° C., about 280° C., about 290° C., about300° C., about 310° C., about 320° C., about 330° C., about 340° C.,about 350° C., about 360° C., about 370° C., about 380° C., about 390°C., or about 400° C., for a period of time of 30 minutes, and then beingabraded.

The coated glass articles described herein may be thermally stable afterheating to a temperature of at least 260° C. for a time period of 30minutes. The phrase “thermally stable,” as used herein, means that thelow friction coating applied to the glass article remains substantiallyintact on the surface of the glass article after exposure to theelevated temperatures such that, after exposure, the mechanicalproperties of the coated glass article, specifically the coefficient offriction and the horizontal compression strength, are only minimallyaffected, if at all. This indicates that the low friction coatingremains adhered to the surface of the glass following elevatedtemperature exposure and continues to protect the glass article frommechanical insults such as abrasions, impacts and the like.

In the embodiments described herein, a coated glass article isconsidered to be thermally stable if the coated glass article meets botha coefficient of friction standard and a horizontal compression strengthstandard after heating to the specified temperature and remaining atthat temperature for the specified time. To determine if the coefficientof friction standard is met, the coefficient of friction of a firstcoated glass article is determined in as-received condition (i.e., priorto any thermal exposure) using the testing jig depicted in FIG. 9 and a30 N applied load. A second coated glass article (i.e., a glass articlehaving the same glass composition and the same coating composition asthe first coated glass article) is thermally exposed under theprescribed conditions and cooled to room temperature. Thereafter, thecoefficient of friction of the second glass article is determined usingthe testing jig depicted in FIG. 9 to abrade the coated glass articlewith a 30 N applied load resulting in an abraded (i.e., a “scratch”)having a length of approximately 20 mm. If the coefficient of frictionof the second coated glass article is less than 0.7 and the surface ofthe glass of the second glass article in the abraded area does not haveany observable damage, then the coefficient of friction standard is metfor purposes of determining the thermal stability of the low frictioncoating. The term “observable damage,” as used herein means that thesurface of the glass in the abraded area of the glass article containsless than six glass checks per 0.5 cm of length of the abraded area whenobserved with a Nomarski or differential interference contrast (DIC)spectroscopy microscope at a magnification of 100× with LED or halogenlight sources. A standard definition of a glass check or glass checkingis described in G. D. Quinn, “NIST Recommended Practice Guide:Fractography of Ceramics and Glasses,” NIST special publication 960-17(2006).

To determine if the horizontal compression strength standard is met, afirst coated glass article is abraded in the testing jig depicted inFIG. 9 under a 30 N load to form a 20 mm scratch. The first coated glassarticle is then subjected to a horizontal compression test, as describedherein, and the retained strength of the first coated glass article isdetermined. A second coated glass article (i.e., a glass article havingthe same glass composition and the same coating composition as the firstcoated glass article) is thermally exposed under the prescribedconditions and cooled to room temperature. Thereafter, the second coatedglass article is abraded in the testing jig depicted in FIG. 9 under a30 N load. The second coated glass article is then subjected to ahorizontal compression test, as described herein, and the retainedstrength of the second coated glass article is determined. If theretained strength of the second coated glass article does not decreaseby more than about 20% relative to the first coated glass article thenthe horizontal compression strength standard is met for purposes ofdetermining the thermal stability of the low friction coating.

In the embodiments described herein, the coated glass containers areconsidered to be thermally stable if the coefficient of frictionstandard and the horizontal compression strength standard are met afterexposing the coated glass containers to a temperature of at least about260° C. for a time period of about 30 minutes (i.e., the coated glasscontainers are thermally stable at a temperature of at least about 260°C. for a time period of about 30 minutes). The thermal stability mayalso be assessed at temperatures from about 260° C. up to about 400° C.For example, in some embodiments, the coated glass containers will beconsidered to be thermally stable if the standards are met at atemperature of at least about 270° C. or even about 280° C. for a timeperiod of about 30 minutes. In still other embodiments, the coated glasscontainers will be considered to be thermally stable if the standardsare met at a temperature of at least about 290° C. or even about 300° C.for a time period of about 30 minutes. In further embodiments, thecoated glass containers will be considered to be thermally stable if thestandards are met at a temperature of at least about 310° C. or evenabout 320° C. for a time period of about 30 minutes. In still otherembodiments, the coated glass containers will be considered to bethermally stable if the standards are met at a temperature of at leastabout 330° C. or even about 340° C. for a time period of about 30minutes. In yet other embodiments, the coated glass containers will beconsidered to be thermally stable if the standards are met at atemperature of at least about 350° C. or even about 360° C. for a timeperiod of about 30 minutes. In some other embodiments, the coated glasscontainers will be considered to be thermally stable if the standardsare met at a temperature of at least about 370° C. or even about 380° C.for a time period of about 30 minutes. In still other embodiments, thecoated glass containers will be considered to be thermally stable if thestandards are met at a temperature of at least about 390° C. or evenabout 400° C. for a time period of about 30 minutes.

The coated glass containers disclosed herein may also be thermallystable over a range of temperatures, meaning that the coated glasscontainers are thermally stable by meeting the coefficient of frictionstandard and horizontal compression strength standard at eachtemperature in the range. For example, in the embodiments describedherein, the coated glass containers may be thermally stable from atleast about 260° C. to a temperature of less than or equal to about 400°C. In some embodiments, the coated glass containers may be thermallystable in a range from at least about 260° C. to about 350° C. In someother embodiments, the coated glass containers may be thermally stablefrom at least about 280° C. to a temperature of less than or equal toabout 350° C. In still other embodiments, the coated glass containersmay be thermally stable from at least about 290° C. to about 340° C. Inanother embodiment, the coated glass container may be thermally stableat a range of temperatures of about 300° C. to about 380° C. In anotherembodiment, the coated glass container may be thermally stable at arange of temperatures from about 320° C. to about 360° C.

The coated glass containers described herein have a four point bendstrength. To measure the four point bend strength of a glass container,a glass tube that is the precursor to the coated glass container 100 isutilized for the measurement. The glass tube has a diameter that is thesame as the glass container but does not include a glass container baseor a glass container mouth (i.e., prior to forming the tube into a glasscontainer). The glass tube is then subjected to a four point bend stresstest to induce mechanical failure. The test is performed at 50% relativehumidity with outer contact members spaced apart by 9″ and inner contactmembers spaced apart by 3″ at a loading rate of 10 mm/min.

The four point bend stress measurement may also be performed on a coatedand abraded tube. Operation of the testing jig 200 may create anabrasion on the tube surface such as a surface scratch that weakens thestrength of the tube, as described in the measurement of the horizontalcompression strength of an abraded vial. The glass tube is thensubjected to a four point bend stress test to induce mechanical failure.The test is performed at 25° C. and at 50% relative humidity using outerprobes spaced apart by 9″ and inner contact members spaced apart by 3″at a loading rate of 10 mm/min, while the tube is positioned such thatthe scratch is put under tension during the test.

In some embodiments, the four point bend strength of a glass tube with alow-friction coating after abrasion shows on average at least 10%, 20%,or even 50% higher mechanical strength than that for an uncoated glasstube abraded under the same conditions.

In some embodiments, after the coated glass container 100 is abraded byan identical glass container with a 30 N normal force, the coefficientof friction of the abraded area of the coated glass container 100 doesnot increase by more than about 20% following another abrasion by anidentical glass container with a 30 N normal force at the same spot, ordoes not increase at all. In other embodiments, after the coated glasscontainer 100 is abraded by an identical glass container with a 30 Nnormal force, the coefficient of friction of the abraded area of thecoated glass container 100 does not increase by more than about 15% oreven 10% following another abrasion by an identical glass container witha 30 N normal force at the same spot, or does not increase at all.However, it is not necessary that all embodiments of the coated glasscontainer 100 display such properties.

Mass loss refers to a measurable property of the coated glass container100 which relates to the amount of volatiles liberated from the coatedglass container 100 when the coated glass container is exposed to aselected elevated temperature for a selected period of time. Mass lossis generally indicative of the mechanical degradation of the coating dueto thermal exposure. Since the glass body of the coated glass containerdoes not exhibit measureable mass loss at the temperatures reported, themass loss test, as described in detail herein, yields mass loss data foronly the low-friction coating that is applied to the glass container.Multiple factors may affect mass loss. For example, the amount oforganic material that can be removed from the coating may affect massloss. The breakdown of carbon backbones and side chains in a polymerwill result in a theoretical 100% removal of the coating. Organometallicpolymer materials typically lose their entire organic component, but theinorganic component remains behind. Thus, mass loss results arenormalized based upon how much of the coating is organic and inorganic(e.g., % silica of the coating) upon complete theoretical oxidation.

To determine the mass loss, a coated sample, such as a coated glassvial, is initially heated to 150° C. and held at this temperature for 30minutes to dry the coating, effectively driving off H₂O from thecoating. The sample is then heated from 150° C. to 350° C. at a ramprate of 10° C./min in an oxidizing environment, such as air. Forpurposes of mass loss determination, only the data collected from 150°C. to 350° C. is considered. In some embodiments, the low-frictioncoating has a mass loss of less than about 5% of its mass when heatedfrom a temperature of 150° C. to 350° C. at a ramp rate of about 10°C./minute. In other embodiments, the low-friction coating has a massloss of less than about 3% or even less than about 2% when heated from atemperature of 150° C. to 350° C. at a ramp rate of about 10° C./minute.In some other embodiments, the low-friction coating has a mass loss ofless than about 1.5% when heated from a temperature of 150° C. to 350°C. at a ramp rate of about 10° C./minute. In some other embodiments, thelow-friction coating loses substantially none of its mass when heatedfrom a temperature of 150° C. to 350° C. at a ramp rate of about 10°C./minute.

Mass loss results are based on a procedure wherein the weight of acoated glass container is compared before and after a heat treatment,such as a ramping temperature of 10°/minute from 150° C. to 350° C., asdescribed herein. The difference in weight between the pre-heattreatment and post-heat treatment vial is the weight loss of thecoating, which can be standardized as a percent weight loss of thecoating such that the pre-heat treatment weight of the coating (weightnot including the glass body of the container and following thepreliminary heating step) is known by comparing the weight on anuncoated glass container with a pre-treatment coated glass container.Alternatively, the total mass of coating may be determined by a totalorganic carbon test or other like means.

Outgassing refers to a measurable property of the coated glass container100 which relates to the amount of volatiles liberated from the coatedglass container 100 when the coated glass container is exposed to aselected elevated temperature for a selected period of time. Outgassingmeasurements are reported herein as an amount by weight of volatilesliberated per the surface area of the glass container having the coatingduring exposure to the elevated temperature for a time period. Since theglass body of the coated glass container does not exhibit measureableoutgassing at the temperatures reported for outgassing, the outgassingtest, as described in detail above, yields outgassing data forsubstantially only the low-friction coating that is applied to the glasscontainer. Outgassing results are based on a procedure wherein a coatedglass container 100 is placed in a glass sample chamber 402 of theapparatus 400 depicted in FIG. 10. A background sample of the emptysample chamber is collected prior to each sample run. The sample chamberis held under a constant 100 ml/min air purge as measured by rotometer406 while the furnace 404 is heated to 350° C. and held at thattemperature for 1 hour to collect the chamber background sample.Thereafter, the coated glass container 100 is positioned in the samplechamber 402 and the sample chamber 402 is held under a constant 100ml/min air purge and heated to an elevated temperature and held attemperature for a period of time to collect a sample from a coated glasscontainer 100. The glass sample chamber is made of Pyrex, limiting themaximum temperature of the analysis to 600° C. A Carbotrap 300 adsorbenttrap 408 is assembled on the exhaust port of the sample chamber toadsorb the resulting volatile species as they are released from thesample and are swept over the absorbent resin by the air purge gas 410where the volatile species are adsorbed. The absorbent resin is thenplaced directly into a Gerstel Thermal Desorption unit coupled directlyto a Hewlett Packard 5890 Series II gas chromatograph/Hewlett Packard5989 MS engine. Outgassing species are thermally desorbed at 350° C.from the adsorbent resin and cryogenically focused at the head of anon-polar gas chromatographic column (DB-5MS). The temperature withinthe gas chromatograph is increased at a rate of 10° C./min to a finaltemperature of 325° C., so as to provide for the separation andpurification of volatile and semi-volatile organic species. Themechanism of separation has been demonstrated to be based on the heatsof vaporization of different organic species resulting in, essentially,a boiling point or distillation chromatogram. Following separation,purified species are analyzed by traditional electron impact ionizationmass spectrometric protocols. By operating under standardizedconditions, the resulting mass spectra may be compared with existingmass spectral libraries.

In some embodiments, the coated glass containers described hereinexhibit an outgassing of less than or equal to about 54.6 ng/cm², lessthan or equal to about 27.3 ng/cm², or even less than or equal to about5.5 ng/cm² during exposure to elevated temperature of about, 250° C.,about 275° C., about 300° C., about 320° C., about 360° C., or evenabout 400° C. for time periods of about 15 minutes, about 30 minutes,about 45 minutes, or about 1 hour. Furthermore, the coated glasscontainers may be thermally stable in a specified range of temperatures,meaning that the coated containers exhibit a certain outgassing, asdescribed above, at every temperature within the specified range. Priorto outgassing measurements, the coated glass containers may be inas-coated condition (i.e., immediately following application of thelow-friction coating) or following any one of depyrogenation,lyophilization, or autoclaving. In some embodiments, the coated glasscontainer 100 may exhibit substantially no outgassing.

In some embodiments, outgassing data may be used to determine mass lossof the low-friction coating. A pre-heat treatment coating mass can bedetermined by the thickness of the coating (determined by SEM image orother manner), the density of low-friction coating, and the surface areaof the coating. Thereafter, the coated glass container can be subjectedto the outgassing procedure, and mass loss can be determined by findingthe ratio of the mass expelled in outgassing to the pre-heat treatmentmass.

Referring to FIG. 11, the transparency and color of the coated containermay be assessed by measuring the light transmission of the containerwithin a range of wavelengths between 400-700 nm using aspectrophotometer. The measurements are performed such that a light beamis directed normal to the container wall such that the beam passesthrough the low-friction coating twice, first when entering thecontainer and then when exiting it. In some embodiments, the lighttransmission through the coated glass container may be greater than orequal to about 55% of a light transmission through an uncoated glasscontainer for wavelengths from about 400 nm to about 700 nm. Asdescribed herein, a light transmission can be measured before a thermaltreatment or after a thermal treatment, such as the heat treatmentsdescribed herein. For example, for each wavelength of from about 400 nmto about 700 nm, the light transmission may be greater than or equal toabout 55% of a light transmission through an uncoated glass container.In other embodiments, the light transmission through the coated glasscontainer is greater than or equal to about 55%, about 60%, about 65%,about 70%, about 75%, about 80%, or even about 90% of a lighttransmission through an uncoated glass container for wavelengths fromabout 400 nm to about 700 nm.

As described herein, a light transmission can be measured before anenvironmental treatment, such as a thermal treatment described herein,or after an environmental treatment. For example, following a heattreatment of about 260° C., about 270° C., about 280° C., about 290° C.,about 300° C., about 310° C., about 320° C., about 330° C., about 340°C., about 350° C., about 360° C., about 370° C., about 380° C., about390° C., or about 400° C., for a period of time of 30 minutes, or afterexposure to lyophilization conditions, or after exposure to autoclaveconditions, the light transmission through the coated glass container isgreater than or equal to about 55%, about 60%, about 65%, about 70%,about 75%, about 80%, or even about 90% of a light transmission throughan uncoated glass container for wavelengths from about 400 nm to about700 nm

In some embodiments, the coated glass container 100 may be perceived ascolorless and transparent to the naked human eye when viewed at anyangle. In some other embodiments, the low-friction coating 120 may havea perceptible tint, such as when the low-friction coating 120 comprisesa polyimide formed from poly(pyromelliticdianhydride-co-4,4′-oxydianiline) amic acid commercially available fromAldrich.

In some embodiments, the coated glass container 100 may have alow-friction coating 120 that is capable of receiving an adhesive label.That is, the coated glass container 100 may receive an adhesive label onthe coated surface such that the adhesive label is securely attached.However, the ability of attachment of an adhesive label is not arequirement for all embodiments of the coated glass containers 100described herein.

EXAMPLES

The various embodiments of glass containers with low-friction coatingswill be further clarified by the following examples. The examples areillustrative in nature, and should not be understood to limit thesubject matter of the present disclosure.

Example 1

Glass vials were formed from Schott Type 1B glass and the glasscomposition identified as “Example E” of Table 1 of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/660,394 filed Oct. 25, 2012 and entitled “GlassCompositions with Improved Chemical and Mechanical Durability” assignedto Corning, Incorporated (hereinafter “the Reference GlassComposition”). The vials were washed with deionized water, blown drywith nitrogen, and dip coated with a 0.1% solution of APS(aminopropylsilsesquioxane). The APS coating was dried at 100° C. in aconvection oven for 15 minutes. The vials were then dipped into a 0.1%solution of NOVASTRAT® 800 polyamic acid in a 15/85 toluene/DMF solutionor in a 0.1% to 1% poly(pyromellitic dianhydride-co-4,4′-oxydianiline)amic acid solution (Kapton precursor) in N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP).The coated vials were heated to 150° C. and held for 20 minutes toevaporate the solvents. Thereafter, the coatings were cured by placingthe coated vials into a preheated furnace at 300° C. for 30 minutes.After curing, the vials coated with the 0.1% solution of NOVASTRAT® 800had no visible color. However, the vials coated with the solution ofpoly(pyromellitic dianhydride-co-4,4′oxydianiline) were visibly yellowin color. Both coatings exhibited a low coefficient of friction invial-to-vial contact tests.

Example 2

Glass vials formed from Schott Type 1B glass vials (asreceived/uncoated) and vials coated with a low-friction coating werecompared to assess the loss of mechanical strength due to abrasion. Thecoated vials were produced by first ion exchange strengthening glassvials produced from the Reference Glass Composition. The ion exchangestrengthening was performed in a 100% KNO₃ bath at 450° C. for 8 hours.Thereafter, the vials were washed with deionized water, blown dry withnitrogen, and dip coated with a 0.1% solution of APS(aminopropylsilsesquioxane). The APS coating was dried at 100° C. in aconvection oven for 15 minutes. The vials were then dipped into a 0.1%solution of NOVASTRAT® 800 polyamic acid in a 15/85 toluene/DMFsolution. The coated vials were heated to 150° C. and held for 20minutes to evaporate the solvents. Thereafter, the coatings were curedby placing the coated vials into a preheated furnace at 300° C. for 30minutes. The coated vials were then soaked in 70° C. de-ionized waterfor 1 hour and heated in air at 320° C. for 2 hours to simulate actualprocessing conditions.

Unabraded vials formed from the Schott Type 1B glass and unabraded vialsformed from the ion-exchange strengthened and coated Reference GlassComposition were tested to failure in a horizontal compression test(i.e., a plate was placed over the top of the vial and a plate wasplaced under the bottom of the vial and the plates were pressed togetherand the applied load at failure was determined with a load cell). FIG.12 graphically depicts the failure probability as a function of appliedload in a horizontal compression test for vials formed from a ReferenceGlass Composition, vials formed from a Reference Glass Composition in acoated and abraded condition, vials formed from Schott Type 1B glass,and vials formed from Schott Type 1B glass in an abraded condition. Thefailure loads of the unabraded vials are graphically depicted in theWeibull plots. Sample vials formed from the Schott Type 1B glass andunabraded vials formed from the ion-exchange strengthened and coatedglass were then placed in the vial-on-vial jig of FIG. 9 to abrade thevials and determine the coefficient of friction between the vials asthey were rubbed together over a contact area having a 0.3 mm diameter.The load on the vials during the test was applied with a UMT machine andwas varied between 24 N and 44 N. The applied loads and thecorresponding maximum coefficient of friction are reported in the Tablecontained in FIG. 13. For the uncoated vials, the maximum coefficient offriction varied from 0.54 to 0.71 (shown in FIG. 13 as vial samples“3&4” and “7&8”, respectively) and while for the coated vials themaximum coefficient of friction varied from 0.19 to 0.41 (shown in FIG.13 as vial samples “15&16” and “12&14”, respectively). Thereafter, thescratched vials were tested in the horizontal compression test to assessthe loss of mechanical strength relative to the unabraded vials. Thefailure loads applied to the unabraded vials are graphically depicted inthe Weibull plots of FIG. 12.

As shown in FIG. 12, the uncoated vials had a significant decrease instrength after abrasion whereas the coated vials had a relatively minordecrease in strength after abrasion. Based on these results, it isbelieved that the coefficient of friction between the vials should beless than 0.7 or 0.5, or even less than 0.45 in order to mitigate theloss of strength following vial-on-vial abrasion.

Example 3

In this example, multiple sets of glass tubes were tested in four pointbending to assess their respective strengths. A first set of tubesformed from the Reference Glass Composition was tested in four pointbending in as received condition (un-coated, non-ion exchangestrengthened). A second set of tubes formed from the Reference GlassComposition was tested in four point bending after being ion exchangestrengthened in a 100% KNO₃ bath at 450° C. for 8 hours. A third set oftubes formed from the Reference Glass Composition was tested in fourpoint bending after being ion exchange strengthened in a 100% KNO₃ bathat 450° C. for 8 hours and coated with 0.1% APS/0.1% NOVASTRAT® 800 asdescribed in Example 2. The coated tubes were also soaked in 70° C.de-ionized water for 1 hour and heated in air at 320° C. for 2 hours tosimulate actual processing conditions. These coated tubes were alsoabraded in the vial-on-vial jig shown in FIG. 9 under a 30 N load priorto bend testing. A fourth set of tubes formed from the Reference GlassComposition was tested in four point bending after being ion exchangestrengthened in a 100% KNO₃ bath at 450° C. for 1 hour. These uncoated,ion exchange strengthened tubes were also abraded in the vial-on-vialjig shown in FIG. 9 under a 30 N load prior to bend testing. A fifth setof tubes formed from Schott Type 1B glass was tested in four pointbending in as received condition (uncoated, non-ion exchangestrengthened). A sixth set of tubes formed from Schott Type 1B glass wastested in four point bending after being ion exchange strengthened in a100% KNO₃ bath at 450° C. for 1 hour. The results of testing aregraphically depicted in the Weibull plots displayed in FIG. 14.

Referring to FIG. 14, the second set of tubes which were non-abraded andformed from the Reference Glass Composition and ion exchangestrengthened withstood the highest stress before breaking. The third setof tubes which were coated with the 0.1% APS/0.1% NOVASTRAT® 800 priorto abrading showed a slight reduction in strength relative to theiruncoated, non-abraded equivalents (i.e., the second set of tubes).However, the reduction in strength was relatively minor despite beingsubjected to abrading after coating.

Example 4

Two sets of vials were prepared and run through a pharmaceutical fillingline. A pressure sensitive tape (commercially available from FujiFilm)was inserted in between the vials to measure contact/impact forcesbetween the vials and between the vials and the equipment. The first setof vials was formed from the Reference Glass Composition and was notcoated. The second set of vials was formed from the Reference GlassComposition and was coated with a low-friction polyimide based coatinghaving a coefficient of friction of about 0.25, as described above. Thepressure sensitive tapes were analyzed after the vials were run throughthe pharmaceutical filling line and demonstrated that the coated vialsof the second set exhibited a 2-3 times reduction in stress compared tothe un-coated vials of the first set.

Example 5

Three sets of four vials each were prepared. All the vials were formedfrom the Reference Glass Composition. The first set of vials was coatedwith the APS/NOVASTRAT® 800 coating as described in Example 2. Thesecond set of vials was dip coated with 0.1% DC806A in toluene. Thesolvent was evaporated at 50° C. and the coating was cured at 300° C.for 30 min. Each set of vials was placed in a tube and heated to 320° C.for 2.5 hours under an air purge to remove trace contaminants adsorbedinto the vials in the lab environment. Each set of samples was thenheated in the tube for another 30 minutes and the outgassed volatileswere captured on an activated carbon sorbent trap. The trap was heatedto 350° C. over 30 minutes to desorb any captured material which was fedinto a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. FIG. 15 depicts gaschromatograph-mass spectrometer output data for the APS/NOVASTRAT® 800coating. FIG. 16 depicts gas chromatography-mass spectrometer outputdata for the DC806A coating. No outgassing was detected from the 0.1%APS/0.1% NOVASTRAT® 800 coating or the DC806A coating.

A set of four vials was coated with a tie-layer using 0.5%/0.5%GAPS/APhTMS solution in methanol/water mixture. Each vial had a coatedsurface area of about 18.3 cm². Solvent was allowed to evaporate at 120°C. for 15 min from the coated vials. Then a 0.5% NOVASTRAT® 800solutions in dimethylacetamide was applied onto the samples. The solventwas evaporated at 150° C. for 20 min. These uncured vials were subjectedto an outgassing test described above. The vials were heated to 320° C.in a stream of air (100 mL/min) and upon reaching 320° C. the outgassedvolatiles were captured on an activated carbon sorbent traps every 15min. The traps then were heated to 350° C. over 30 minutes to desorb anycaptured material which was fed into a gas chromatograph-massspectrometer. Table 1 shows the amount of captured materials over thesegments of time that the samples were held at 320° C. Time zerocorresponds with the time that the sample first reached a temperature of320° C. As seen in Table 1, after 30 min of heating the amount ofvolatiles decreases below the instrument detection limit of 100 ng.Table 1 also reports the volatiles lost per square cm of coated surface.

TABLE 1 Volatiles per vial and per area. Amount, Amount Time Period at320° C. ng/vial ng/cm² 25° C. to 320° C. ramp (t = 0) 60404 3301 t = 0to 15 min 9371 512 t = 15 to 30 min 321 18 t = 30 to 45 min <100 <5 t =45 to 60 min <100 <5 t = 60 to 90 min <100 <5

Example 6

A plurality of vials was prepared with various coatings based on siliconresin or polyimides with and without coupling agents. When couplingagents were used, the coupling agents included APS and GAPS(3-aminopropyltrialkoxysilane), which is a precursor for APS. The outercoating layer was prepared from NOVASTRAT® 800, the poly(pyromelliticdianhydride-co-4,4′oxydianiline) described above, or silicone resinssuch as DC806A and DC255. The APS/Kapton coatings were prepared using a0.1% solution of APS (aminopropylsilsesquioxane) and 0.1% solution, 0.5%solution or 1.0% solutions of poly(pyromelliticdianhydride-co-4,4′-oxydianiline) amic acid (Kapton precursor) inN-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). Kapton coatings were also applied withouta coupling agent using a 1.0% solution of the poly(pyromelliticdianhydride-co-4,4′oxydianiline) in NMP. The APS/NOVASTRAT® 800 coatingswere prepared using a 0.1% solution of APS (aminopropylsilsesquioxane)and a 0.1% solution of NOVASTRAT® 800 polyamic acid in a 15/85toluene/DMF solution. The DC255 coatings were applied directly to theglass without a coupling agent using a 1.0% solution of DC255 inToluene. The APS/DC806A coatings were prepared by first applying a 0.1%solution of APS in water and then a 0.1% solution or a 0.5% solution ofDC806A in toluene. The GAPS/DC806A coatings were applied using a 1.0%solution of GAPS in 95 wt. % ethanol in water as a coupling agent andthen a 1.0% solution of DC806A in toluene. The coupling agents andcoatings were applied using dip coating methods as described herein withthe coupling agents being heat treated after application and the siliconresin and polyimide coatings being dried and cured after application.The coating thicknesses were estimated based on the concentrations ofthe solutions used. The Table contained in FIG. 17 lists the variouscoating compositions, estimated coating thicknesses and testingconditions.

Thereafter, some of the vials were tumbled to simulate coating damageand others were subjected to abrasion under 30 N and 50 N loads in thevial-on-vial jig depicted in FIG. 9. Thereafter, all the vials weresubjected to a lyophilization (freeze drying process) in which the vialswere filled with 0.5 mL of sodium chloride solution and then frozen at−100° C. Lyophilization was then performed for 20 hours at −15° C. undervacuum. The vials were inspected with optical quality assuranceequipment and under microscope. No damage to the coatings was observeddue to lyophilization.

Example 7

Three sets of six vials were prepared to assess the effect of increasingload on the coefficient of friction for uncoated vials and vials coatedwith Dow Corning DC 255 silicone resin. A first set of vials was formedfrom Type 1B glass and left uncoated. The second set of vials was formedfrom the Reference Glass Composition and coated with a 1% solution ofDC255 in Toluene and cured at 300° C. for 30 min. The third set of vialswas formed from Schott Type 1B glass and coated with a 1% solution ofDC255 in Toluene. The vials of each set were placed in the vial-on-vialjig depicted in FIG. 9 and the coefficient of friction relative to asimilarly coated vial was measured during abrasion under static loads of10 N, 30 N, and 50 N. The results are graphically reported in FIG. 18.As shown in FIG. 18, coated vials showed appreciably lower coefficientsof friction compared to uncoated vials when abraded under the sameconditions irrespective of the glass composition.

Example 8

Three sets of two glass vials were prepared with an APS/Kapton coating.First, each of the vials was dip coated in a 0.1% solution of APS(aminopropylsilsesquioxane). The APS coating was dried at 100° C. in aconvection oven for 15 minutes. The vials were then dipped into a 0.1%poly(pyromellitic dianhydride-co-4,4′-oxydianiline) amic acid solution(Kapton precursor) in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). Thereafter, thecoatings were cured by placing the coated vials into a preheated furnaceat 300° C. for 30 minutes.

Two vials were placed in the vial-on-vial jig depicted in FIG. 9 andabraded under a 10 N loaded. The abrasion procedure was repeated 4 moretimes over the same area and the coefficient of friction was determinedfor each abrasion. The vials were wiped between abrasions and thestarting point of each abrasion was positioned on a previouslynon-abraded area. However, each abrasion traveled over the same “track”.The same procedure was repeated for loads of 30 N and 50 N. Thecoefficients of friction of each abrasion (i.e., A1-A5) are graphicallydepicted in FIG. 19 for each load. As shown in FIG. 19, the coefficientof friction of the APS/Kapton coated vials was generally less than 0.30for all abrasions at all loads. The examples demonstrate improvedresistance to abrasion for polyimide coating when applied over a glasssurface treated with a coupling agent.

Example 9

Three sets of two glass vials were prepared with an APS coating. Each ofthe vials were dip coated in a 0.1% solution of APS(aminopropylsilsesquioxane) and heated at 100° C. in a convection ovenfor 15 minutes. Two vials were placed in the vial-on-vial jig depictedin FIG. 9 and abraded under a 10 N load. The abrasion procedure wasrepeated 4 more times over the same area and the coefficient of frictionwas determined for each abrasion. The vials were wiped between abrasionsand the starting point of each abrasion was positioned on a previouslynon-abraded area. However, each abrasion traveled over the same “track”.The same procedure was repeated for loads of 30 N and 50 N. Thecoefficients of friction of each abrasion (i.e., A1-A5) are graphicallydepicted in FIG. 20 for each load. As shown in FIG. 20, the coefficientof friction of the APS only coated vials is generally higher than 0.3and often reached 0.6 or even higher.

Example 10

Three sets of two glass vials were prepared with an APS/Kapton coating.Each of the vials was dip coated in a 0.1% solution of APS(aminopropylsilsesquioxane). The APS coating was heated at 100° C. in aconvection oven for 15 minutes. The vials were then dipped into a 0.1%poly(pyromellitic dianhydride-co-4,4′-oxydianiline) amic acid solution(Kapton precursor) in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). Thereafter, thecoatings were cured by placing the coated vials in into a preheatedfurnace at 300° C. for 30 minutes. The coated vials were thendepyrogenated (heated) at 300° C. for 12 hours.

Two vials were placed in the vial-on-vial jig depicted in FIG. 9 andabraded under a 10 N load. The abrasion procedure was repeated 4 moretimes over the same area and the coefficient of friction was determinedfor each abrasion. The vials were wiped between abrasions and thestarting point of each abrasion was positioned on a previously abradedarea and each abrasion was performed over the same “track”. The sameprocedure was repeated for loads of 30 N and 50 N. The coefficients offriction of each abrasion (i.e., A1-A5) are graphically depicted in FIG.21 for each load. As shown in FIG. 21, the coefficients of friction ofthe APS/Kapton coated vials were generally uniform and approximately0.20 or less for the abrasions introduced at loads of 10 N and 30 N.However, when the applied load was increased to 50 N, the coefficient offriction increased for each successive abrasion, with the fifth abrasionhaving a coefficient of friction slightly less than 0.40.

Example 11

Three sets of two glass vials were prepared with an APS(aminopropylsilsesquioxane) coating. Each of the vials was dip coated ina 0.1% solution of APS and heated at 100° C. in a convection oven for 15minutes. The coated vials were then depyrogenated (heated) at 300° C.for 12 hours. Two vials were placed in the vial-on-vial jig depicted inFIG. 9 and abraded under a 10 N loaded. The abrasion procedure wasrepeated 4 more times over the same area and the coefficient of frictionwas determined for each abrasion. The vials were wiped between abrasionsand the starting point of each abrasion was positioned on a previouslyabraded area and each abrasion traveled over the same “track”. The sameprocedure was repeated for loads of 30 N and 50 N. The coefficients offriction of each abrasion (i.e., A1-A5) are graphically depicted in FIG.22 for each load. As shown in FIG. 22, the coefficients of friction ofthe APS coated vials depyrogenated for 12 hours were significantlyhigher than the APS coated vials shown in FIG. 20 and were similar tocoefficients of friction exhibited by uncoated glass vials, indicatingthat the vials may have experienced a significant loss of mechanicalstrength due to the abrasions.

Example 12

Three sets of two glass vials formed from Schott Type 1B glass wereprepared with a Kapton coating. The vials were dipped into a 0.1%poly(pyromellitic dianhydride-co-4,4′-oxydianiline) amic acid solution(Kapton precursor) in N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). Thereafter, thecoatings were dried at 150° C. for 20 min and then cured by placing thecoated vials in into a preheated furnace at 300° C. for 30 minutes.

Two vials were placed in the vial-on-vial jig depicted in FIG. 9 andabraded under a 10 N loaded. The abrasion procedure was repeated 4 moretimes over the same area and the coefficient of friction was determinedfor each abrasion. The vials were wiped between abrasions and thestarting point of each abrasion was positioned on a previouslynon-abraded area. However, each abrasion traveled over the same “track”.The same procedure was repeated for loads of 30 N and 50 N. Thecoefficients of friction of each abrasion (i.e., A1-A5) are graphicallydepicted in FIG. 23 for each load. As shown in FIG. 23, the coefficientsof friction of the Kapton coated vials generally increased after thefirst abrasion demonstrating poor abrasion resistance of a polyimidecoating applied onto a glass without a coupling agent.

Example 13

The APS/NOVASTRAT® 800 coated vials of Example 6 were tested for theircoefficient of friction after lyophilization using a vial-on-vial jigshown in FIG. 9 with a 30 N load. No increase in coefficient of frictionwas detected after lyophilization. FIG. 24 contains Tables showing thecoefficient of friction for the APS/NOVASTRAT® 800 coated vials beforeand after lyophilization.

Example 14

The Reference Glass Composition vials were ion exchanged and coated asdescribed in Example 2. The coated vials were autoclaved using thefollowing protocol: 10 minute steam purge at 100° C., followed by a 20minute dwelling period wherein the coated glass container 100 is exposedto a 121° C. environment, followed by 30 minutes of treatment at 121° C.The coefficient of friction for autoclaved and non-autoclaved vials wasmeasured using a vial-on-vial jig shown in FIG. 9 with 30 N load. FIG.26 shows the coefficient of friction for APS/NOVASTRAT® 800 coated vialsbefore and after autoclaving. No increase in coefficient of friction wasdetected after autoclaving.

Example 15

Three sets of vials were prepared to assess the efficacy of coatings onmitigating damage to the vials. A first set of vials was coated with apolyimide outer coating later with an intermediate coupling agent layer.The outer layer consisted of the NOVASTRAT® 800 polyimide, which wasapplied as a solution of polyamic acid in dimethylacetamide and imidizedby heating to 300° C. The coupling agent layer consisted of the APS andaminophenyltrimethoxysilane (APhTMS) in a 1:8 ratio. These vials weredepyrogenated for 12 hours at 320° C. As with the first set of vials,the second set of vials was coated with a polyimide outer coating layerwith an intermediate coupling agent layer. The second set of vials wasdepyrogenated for 12 hours at 320° C. and then autoclaved for 1 hour at121° C. A third set of vials was left uncoated. Each set of vials wasthen subjected to a vial-on-vial frictive test under a 30 N load. Thecoefficient of friction for each set of vials is reported in FIG. 27.Photographs of the vial surface showing damage (or the lack of damage)experienced by each vial is also depicted in FIG. 27. As shown in FIG.27, the uncoated vials generally had a coefficient of friction greaterthan about 0.7. The uncoated vials also incurred visually perceptibledamage as a result of the testing. However, the coated vials had acoefficient of friction of less than 0.45 without any visuallyperceptible surface damage.

The coated vials were also subjected to depyrogenation, as describedabove, autoclave conditions, or both. FIG. 25 graphically depicts thefailure probability as a function of applied load in a horizontalcompression test for the vials. There was no statistical differencebetween depyrogenated vials and depyrogenated and autoclaved vials.

Example 16

Referring now to FIG. 28, vials were prepared with three differentcoating compositions to assess the effect of different ratios of silaneson the coefficient of friction of the applied coating. The first coatingcomposition included a coupling agent layer having a 1:1 ratio of GAPSto aminophenyltrimethyloxysilane and an outer coating layer whichconsisted of 1.0% NOVASTRAT® 800 polyimide. The second coatingcomposition included a coupling agent layer having a 1:0.5 ratio of GAPSto aminophenyltrimethyloxysilane and an outer coating layer whichconsisted of 1.0% NOVASTRAT® 800 polyimide. The third coatingcomposition included a coupling agent layer having a 1:0.2 ratio of GAPSto aminophenyltrimethyloxysilane and an outer coating layer whichconsisted of 1.0% NOVASTRAT® 800 polyimide. All the vials weredepyrogenated for 12 hours at 320° C. Thereafter, the vials weresubjected to a vial-on-vial frictive test under loads of 20 N and 30 N.The average applied normal force, coefficient of friction, and maximumfrictive force (Fx) for each vial is reported in FIG. 28. As shown inFIG. 28, decreasing the amount of aromatic silane (i.e., theaminophenytrimethyloxysilane) increases the coefficient of frictionbetween the vials as well as the frictive force experienced by thevials.

Example 17

Vials formed from type 1B ion-exchanged glass were prepared withlow-friction coatings have varying ratios of silanes.

Samples were prepared with a composition which included a coupling agentlayer formed from 0.125% APS and 1.0% aminophenyltrimethyloxysilane(APhTMS), having a ratio of 1:8, and an outer coating layer formed from0.1% NOVASTRAT® 800 polyimide. The thermal stability of the appliedcoating was evaluated by determining the coefficient of friction andfrictive force of vials before and after depyrogenation. Specifically,coated vials were subjected to a vial-on-vial frictive test under a loadof 30 N. The coefficient of friction and frictive force were measuredand are plotted in FIG. 29 as a function of time. A second set of vialswere depyrogenated for 12 hours at 320° C. and subjected to the samevial-on-vial frictive test under a load of 30 N. The coefficient offriction remained the same both before and after depyrogenationindicating that the coatings were thermally stable. A photograph of thecontacted area of the glass is also shown.

Samples were prepared with a composition which included a coupling agentlayer formed from 0.0625% APS and 0.5% aminophenyltrimethyloxysilane(APhTMS), having a ratio of 1:8, and an outer coating layer formed from0.05% NOVASTRAT® 800 polyimide. The thermal stability of the appliedcoating was evaluated by determining the coefficient of friction andfrictive force of vials before and after depyrogenation. Specifically,coated vials were subjected to a vial-on-vial frictive test under a loadof 30 N. The coefficient of friction and frictive force were measuredand are plotted in FIG. 37 as a function of time. A second set of vialswere depyrogenated for 12 hours at 320° C. and subjected to the samevial-on-vial frictive test under a load of 30 N. The coefficient offriction remained the same both before and after depyrogenationindicating that the coatings were thermally stable. A photograph of thecontacted area of the glass is also shown.

FIG. 38 graphically depicts the failure probability as a function ofapplied load in a horizontal compression test for the vials withlow-friction coatings formed from 0.125% APS and 1.0%aminophenyltrimethyloxysilane (APhTMS), having a ratio of 1:8, and anouter coating layer formed from 0.1% NOVASTRAT® 800 polyimide (Shown as“260” on FIG. 38), and formed from 0.0625% APS and 0.5%aminophenyltrimethyloxysilane (APhTMS), having a ratio of 1:8, and anouter coating layer formed from 0.05% NOVASTRAT® 800 polyimide (Shown as“280” on FIG. 38). A photograph of the contacted area of the glass isalso shown. The data shows that failure load remains unchanged fromuncoated unscratched samples for coated, depyrogenated, and scratchedsamples demonstrating glass protection from damage by the coating.

Vials were prepared with low-friction coatings have varying ratios ofsilanes. Samples were prepared with a composition which included acoupling agent layer formed from 0.5% Dynasylan® Hydrosil 1151 and 0.5%aminophenyltrimethyloxysilane (APhTMS), having a ratio of 1:1, and anouter coating layer formed from 0.05% NOVASTRAT® 800 polyimide. Thethermal stability of the applied coating was evaluated by determiningthe coefficient of friction and frictive force of vials before and afterdepyrogenation. Specifically, coated vials were subjected to avial-on-vial frictive test under a load of 30 N. The coefficient offriction and frictive force were measured and are plotted in FIG. 39 asa function of time. A second set of vials were depyrogenated for 12hours at 320° C. and subjected to the same vial-on-vial frictive testunder a load of 30 N. The coefficient of friction remained the same bothbefore and after depyrogenation indicating that the coatings werethermally stable. A photograph of the contacted area of the glass isalso shown. This suggests that hydrolysates of aminosilanes, such asaminosilsesquioxanes, are useful in the coating formulations as well.

The thermal stability of the applied coating was also evaluated for aseries of depyrogenation conditions. Specifically, type 1B ion-exchangedglass vials were prepared with a composition which included a couplingagent layer having a 1:1 ratio of GAPS (0.5%) toaminophenyltrimethyloxysilane (0.5%) and an outer coating layer whichconsisted of 0.5% NOVASTRAT® 800 polyimide. Sample vials were subjectedto one of the following depyrogenation cycles: 12 hours at 320° C.; 24hours at 320° C.; 12 hours at 360° C.; or 24 hours at 360° C. Thecoefficient of friction and frictive force were then measured using avial-on-vial frictive test and plotted as a function of time for eachdepyrogenation condition, as shown in FIG. 30. As shown in FIG. 30, thecoefficient of friction of the vials did not vary with thedepyrogenation conditions indicating that the coating was thermallystable. FIG. 40 graphically depicts the coefficient of friction aftervarying heat treatment times at 360° C. and 320° C.

Example 18

Vials were coated as described in Example 2 with a APS/NOVASTRAT® 800coating. The light transmission of coated vials, as well as uncoatedvials, was measured within a range of wavelengths between 400-700 nmusing a spectrophotometer. The measurements are performed such that alight beam is directed normal to the container wall such that the beampasses through the low-friction coating twice, first when entering thecontainer and then when exiting it. FIG. 11 graphically depicts thelight transmittance data for coated and uncoated vials measured in thevisible light spectrum from 400-700 nm. Line 440 shows an uncoated glasscontainer and line 442 shows a coated glass container.

Example 19

Vials were coated with a 0.25% GAPS/0.25% APhTMS coupling agent and 1.0%NOVASTRAT® 800 polyimide and were tested for light transmission beforeand after depyrogenation at 320° C. for 12 hours. An uncoated vial wasalso tested. Results are shown in FIG. 46.

Example 20

To improve polyimide coating uniformity, the NOVASTRAT® 800 polyamicacid was converted into polyamic acid salt and dissolved in methanol,significantly faster evaporating solvent compared to dimethylacetamide,by adding 4 g of triethylamine to 1 L of methanol and then addingNOVASTRAT® 800 polyamic acid to form 0.1% solution.

Coating on 1B ion-exchanged vials formed from 1.0% GAPS/1.0% APhTMS inmethanol/water mixture and 0.1% NOVASTRAT® 800 polyamic acid salt inmethanol. The coated vials were depyrogenated for 12 h at 360° C. andundepyrgenated and depyrogenated samples were scratched in vial-on-vialjig at 10, 20 and 30 N normal loads. No glass damage was observed atnormal forces of 10 N, 20 N and 30 N. FIG. 41 shows the coefficient offriction, applied force and frictive force for the samples after a heattreatment at 360° C. for 12 hours. FIG. 42 graphically depicts thefailure probability as a function of applied load in a horizontalcompression test for the samples. Statistically the sample series at 10N, 20 N, and 30 N were indistinguishable from each other. The low loadfailure samples broke from origins located away from the scratch.

Thickness of the coaing layers was estimated using ellipsometry andscanning electron microscopy (SEM), shown in FIGS. 43-45, respectively.The samples for coating thickness measurements were produced usingsilicon wafer (ellipsometry) and glass slides (SEM). The methods showthicknesses varying from 55 to 180 nm for silsesquioxane tie-layer and35 nm for NOVASTRAT® 800 polyamic acid salt.

Example 21

Plasma cleaned Si wafers pieces were dip coated using 0.5% GAPS, 0.5%APhTMS solution in 75/25 methanol/water vol/vol mixture. The coating wasexposed to 120° C. for 15 minutes. The coating thickness was determinedusing ellipsometry. Three samples were prepared, and had thicknesses of92.1 nm, 151.7 nm, and 110.2 nm, respectively, with a standard deviationof 30.6 nm.

Glass slides were dip coated and examined with a scanning electronmicroscope. FIG. 43 shows an SEM image glass slide dipped in a coatingsolution of 1.0% GAPS, 1.0% APhTMS, and 0.3% NMP with an 8 mm/s pull outrate after a curing at 150° C. for 15 minutes. The coating appears to beabout 93 nm thick. FIG. 44 shows an SEM image glass slide dipped in acoating solution of 1.0% GAPS, 1.0% APhTMS, and 0.3% NMP with a 4 mm/spull out rate after a curing at 150° C. for 15 minutes. The coatingappears to be about 55 nm thick. FIG. 45 shows an SEM image glass slidedipped in a coating solution of 0.5 NOVASTRAT® 800 solution with a 2mm/s pull up rate after a curing at 150° C. for 15 min and heattreatment at 320° C. for 30 minutes. The coating appears to be about 35nm thick.

Comparative Example A

Glass vials formed from a Type 1B glass were coated with a dilutedcoating of Bayer Silicone aqueous emulsion of Baysilone M with a solidscontent of about 1-2%. The vials were treated at 150° C. for 2 hours todrive away water from the surface leaving a polydimethylsiloxane coatingon the exterior surface of the glass. The nominal thickness of thecoating was about 200 nm. A first set of vials were maintained inuntreated condition (i.e., the “as-coated vials”). A second set of vialswere treated at 280° C. for 30 minutes (i.e., the “treated vials”). Someof the vials from each set were first mechanically tested by applying ascratch with a linearly increasing load from 0-48N and a length ofapproximately 20 mm using a UMT-2 tribometer. The scratches wereevaluated for coefficient of friction and morphology to determine if thescratching procedure damaged the glass or if the coating protected theglass from damage due to scratching.

FIG. 33 is a plot showing the coefficient of friction, scratchpenetration, applied normal force, and frictional force (y-ordinates) asa function of the length of the applied scratch (x-ordinate) for theas-coated vials. As graphically depicted in FIG. 33, the as-coated vialsexhibited a coefficient of friction of approximately 0.03 up to loads ofabout 30 N. The data shows that below approximately 30 N the COF isalways below 0.1. However, at normal forces greater than 30 N, thecoating began to fail, as indicated by the presence of glass checkingalong the length of scratch. Glass checking is indicative of glasssurface damage and an increased propensity of the glass to fail as aresult of the damage.

FIG. 34 is a plot showing the coefficient of friction, scratchpenetration, applied normal force, and frictional force (y-ordinates) asa function of the length of the applied scratch (x-ordinate) for thetreated vials. For the treated vials, the coefficient of frictionremained low until the applied load reached a value of approximately 5N. At that point the coating began to fail and the glass surface wasseverely damaged as evident from the increased amount of glass checkingwhich occurred with increasing load. The coefficient of friction of thetreated vials increased to about 0.5. However, the coating failed toprotect the surface of the glass at loads of 30 N following thermalexposure, indicating that the coating was not thermally stable.

The vials were then tested by applying 30 N static loads across theentire length of the 20 mm scratch. Ten samples of as-coated vials andten samples of treated vials were tested in horizontal compression byapplying a 30 N static load across the entire length of the 20 mmscratch. None of the as-coated samples failed at the scratch while 6 ofthe 10 treated vials failed at the scratch indicating that the treatedvials had lower retained strength.

Comparative Example B

A solution of Wacker Silres MP50 (part #60078465 lot #EB21192) wasdiluted to 2% and was applied to vials formed from the Reference GlassComposition. The vials were first cleaned by applying plasma for 10seconds prior to coating. The vials were dried at 315° C. for 15 minutesto drive off water from the coating. A first set of vials was maintainedin “as-coated” condition. A second set of vials was treated for 30minutes at temperatures ranging from 250° C. to 320° C. (i.e., “treatedvials”). Some of the vials from each set were first mechanically testedby applying a scratch with a linearly increasing load from 0-48N and alength of approximately 20 mm using a UMT-2 tribometer. The scratcheswere evaluated for coefficient of friction and morphology to determineif the scratching procedure damaged the glass or if the coatingprotected the glass from damage due to scratching.

FIG. 35 is a plot showing the coefficient of friction, scratchpenetration, applied normal force, and frictional force (y-ordinates) asa function of the length of the applied scratch (x-ordinate) for theas-coated vials. The as-coated vials exhibited damage to the coating,but no damage to the glass.

FIG. 36 is a plot showing the coefficient of friction, scratchpenetration, applied normal force, and frictional force (y-ordinates) asa function of the length of the applied scratch (x-ordinate) for thetreated vials treated at 280° C. The treated vials exhibited significantglass surface damage at applied loads greater than about 20N. It wasalso determined that the load threshold to glass damage decreased withincreasing thermal exposure temperatures, indicating that the coatingsdegraded with increasing temperature (i.e., the coating is not thermallystable). Samples treated at temperatures lower than 280° C. showed glassdamage at loads above 30N.

Comparative Example C

Vials formed from the Reference Glass Composition were treated withEvonik Silikophen P 401W diluted to 2% solids in water. The samples werethen dried at 150° C. for 15 minutes and subsequently cured at 315° C.for 15 minutes. A first set of vials was maintained in “as-coated”condition. A second set of vials was treated for 30 minutes at atemperature of 260° C. (i.e., “the 260° C. treated vials”). A third setof vials was treated for 30 minutes at a temperature of 280° C. (i.e.,“the 280° C. treated vials”). The vials were scratched with a staticload of 30 N using the testing jig depicted in FIG. 9. The vials werethen tested in horizontal compression. The 260° C. treated vials and the280° C. treated vials failed in compression while 2 of 16 of theas-coated vials failed at the scratch. This indicates that the coatingdegraded upon exposure to elevated temperatures and, as a result, thecoating did not adequately protect the surface from the 30 N load.

Based on the foregoing, it should now be understood that various aspectsof coated glass articles are disclosed herein. According to a firstaspect, a coated glass article comprises: a glass body comprising afirst surface; and a low-friction coating positioned on at least aportion of the first surface of the glass body, the low-friction coatingcomprising a polymer chemical composition, wherein: the coated glassarticle is thermally stable at a temperature of at least about 260° C.or even 280° C. for 30 minutes. The term thermally stable means that (1)a coefficient of friction of an abraded area of the portion of theexterior surface with the low-friction coating is less than 0.7 afterexposure to the specified elevated temperature for 30 minutes andabrasion under a 30 N load and does not have observable damage and (2) aretained strength of the coated glass article in horizontal compressiondoes not decrease by more than about 20% after exposure to an elevatedtemperature of 280° C. for 30 minutes abrasion under a 30 N load. Insome embodiments of this first aspect, a light transmission through thecoated glass article is greater than or equal to about 55% of a lighttransmission through an uncoated glass article for wavelengths fromabout 400 nm to about 700 nm. In some embodiments of this first aspect,the low-friction coating has a mass loss of less than about 5% of itsmass when heated from a temperature of 150° C. to 350° C. at a ramp rateof about 10° C./minute.

In a second aspect, a coated glass article comprises a glass bodycomprising a first surface; and a low-friction coating positioned on atleast a portion of the first surface of the glass body, the low-frictioncoating comprising: a polymer chemical composition; and a coupling agentcomprising at least one of: a first silane chemical composition, ahydrolysate thereof, or an oligomer thereof, wherein the first silanechemical composition is an aromatic silane chemical composition; and achemical composition formed from the oligomerization of at least thefirst silane chemical composition and a second silane chemicalcomposition, wherein: the first silane chemical composition and thesecond silane chemical composition are different chemical compositions;the coated glass article is thermally stable at a temperature of atleast about 260° C. for 30 minutes; a light transmission through thecoated glass article is greater than or equal to about 55% of a lighttransmission through an uncoated glass article for wavelengths fromabout 400 nm to about 700 nm; and the low-friction coating has a massloss of less than about 5% of its mass when heated from a temperature of150° C. to 350° C. at a ramp rate of about 10° C./minute.

In a third aspect, a coated glass article comprises a glass bodycomprising a first surface; a low-friction coating positioned on atleast a portion of the first surface of the glass body, the low-frictioncoating comprising: a coupling agent comprising an oligomer of one ormore silane chemical compositions, wherein the oligomer is asilsesquioxane chemical composition and at least one of the silanechemical compositions comprises at least one aromatic moiety and atleast one amine moiety; and a polyimide chemical composition formed fromthe polymerization of at least a first diamine monomer chemicalcomposition, a second diamine monomer chemical composition, and adianhydride monomer chemical composition, wherein the first diaminemonomer chemical composition is different than the second diaminemonomer chemical composition.

In a fourth aspect, a coated glass article comprises a glass bodycomprising a first surface; and a low-friction coating positioned on atleast a portion of the first surface of the glass body, the low-frictioncoating comprising a polymer chemical composition, wherein: the coatedglass article is thermally stable at a temperature of at least about300° C. for 30 minutes; and a light transmission through the coatedglass article is greater than or equal to about 55% of a lighttransmission through an uncoated glass article for wavelengths fromabout 400 nm to about 700 nm.

In a fifth aspect, coated glass article comprises: a glass bodycomprising a first surface and a second surface opposite the firstsurface, wherein the first surface is an exterior surface of a glasscontainer; and a low-friction coating bonded to at least a portion ofthe first surface of the glass body, the low-friction coating comprisinga polymer chemical composition, wherein: the coated glass article isthermally stable at a temperature of at least about 280° C. for 30minutes; and a light transmission through the coated glass article isgreater than or equal to about 55% of a light transmission through anuncoated glass article for wavelengths from about 400 nm to about 700nm.

In a sixth aspect, a coated glass article comprises: a glass bodycomprising a first surface; and a low-friction coating bonded to atleast a portion of the first surface of the glass body, the low-frictioncoating comprising: a coupling agent layer positioned on the firstsurface of the glass body, the coupling agent layer comprising acoupling agent, the coupling agent comprising at least one of: a firstsilane chemical composition, a hydrolysate thereof, or an oligomerthereof, wherein the first silane chemical composition is an aromaticsilane chemical composition; and a chemical composition formed from theoligomerization of at least the first silane chemical composition and asecond silane chemical composition, a polymer layer positioned over thecoupling agent layer, the polymer layer comprising a polyimide chemicalcomposition; and wherein: the first silane chemical composition and thesecond silane chemical composition are different chemical compositions;the coated glass article is thermally stable at a temperature of atleast about 280° C. for 30 minutes; and a light transmission through thecoated glass article is greater than or equal to about 55% of a lighttransmission through an uncoated glass article for wavelengths fromabout 400 nm to about 700 nm.

In a seventh aspect, a coated glass article comprises: a glass bodycomprising a first surface; a low-friction coating bonded to at least aportion of the first surface of the glass body, the low-friction coatingcomprising: a coupling agent layer comprising a coupling agent, thecoupling agent comprising an oligomer of one or more silane chemicalcompositions, wherein the oligomer is a silsesquioxane chemicalcomposition and at least one of the silane chemical compositionscomprises at least one aromatic moiety and at least one amine moiety; apolymer layer, the polymer layer comprising a polyimide chemicalcomposition formed from the polymerization of at least a first diaminemonomer chemical composition, a second diamine monomer chemicalcomposition, and a dianhydride monomer chemical composition, wherein thefirst diamine monomer chemical composition is different than the seconddiamine monomer chemical composition; and an interface layer comprisingone or more chemical compositions of the polymer layer bound with one ormore of the chemical compositions of the coupling agent layer.

An eighth aspect includes the coated glass article of any of the firstthrough fourth, sixth, or seventh aspects, wherein: the glass body is aglass container comprising a second surface opposite the first surface;and the first surface is an exterior surface of the glass container.

A ninth aspect includes the coated glass article of any of the firstthrough seventh aspects, wherein the coated glass article is apharmaceutical package.

A tenth aspect includes the coated glass article of the ninth aspect,wherein the pharmaceutical package contains a pharmaceuticalcomposition.

An eleventh aspect includes the coated glass article of any of the firstthrough seventh aspects, wherein the glass body comprises ion-exchangedglass.

A twelfth aspect includes the coated glass article of any of the firstthrough fifth aspects, wherein the low-friction coating comprises: acoupling agent layer positioned on the first surface of the glass body,the coupling agent layer comprising the coupling agent; and a polymerlayer positioned over the coupling agent layer, the polymer layercomprising the polymer chemical composition.

A thirteenth aspect includes the coated glass article of the sixth ortwelfth aspects, wherein: the low-friction coating further comprises aninterface layer positioned between the coupling agent layer and thepolymer layer; and the interface layer comprises one or more chemicalcompositions of the polymer layer bound with one or more of the chemicalcompositions of the coupling agent layer.

A fourteenth aspect includes the coated glass article of any of thefirst through seventh aspects, wherein the coefficient of friction ofthe portion of the coated glass article with the low-friction coating isat least 20% less than a coefficient of friction of a surface of anuncoated glass article formed from a same glass composition.

A fifteenth aspect includes the coated glass article of includes any ofthe first through seventh aspects, wherein the portion of the coatedglass article with the low-friction coating has a coefficient offriction of less than or equal to about 0.7 after exposure to autoclaveconditions.

A sixteenth aspect includes the coated glass article of includes any ofthe first through seventh aspects, wherein the portion of the coatedglass article with the low-friction coating has a coefficient offriction of less than or equal to about 0.7 after the coated glassarticle is submerged in a water bath at a temperature of about 70° C.for 1 hour.

A seventeenth aspect includes the coated glass article of, any of thefirst through seventh aspects, wherein the portion of the coated glassarticle with the low-friction coating has a coefficient of friction ofless than or equal to about 0.7 after exposure to lyophilizationconditions.

An eighteenth aspect includes the coated glass article of the first,fourth, or fifth aspects, wherein the low-friction coating furthercomprises a coupling agent.

A nineteenth aspect includes the coated glass article of the eighteenthaspect, wherein the coupling agent comprises at least one of: a firstsilane chemical composition, a hydrolysate thereof, or an oligomerthereof; and a chemical composition formed from the oligomerization ofat least the first silane chemical composition and a second silanechemical composition, wherein the first silane chemical composition andthe second silane chemical composition are different chemicalcompositions

A twentieth aspect includes the coated glass article of nineteenthaspect, wherein the first silane chemical composition is an aromaticsilane chemical composition.

A twenty-first aspect includes the coated glass article of theeighteenth aspect, wherein the coupling agent comprises a silsesquioxanechemical composition.

A twenty-second aspect includes the coated glass article of twenty-firstaspect, wherein the silsesquioxane chemical composition comprises anaromatic moiety.

A twenty-third aspect includes the coated glass article of twenty-secondaspect, wherein the silsesquioxane chemical composition furthercomprises an amine moiety.

A twenty-fourth aspect includes the coated glass article of theeighteenth aspect, wherein the coupling agent comprises at least one of:a mixture of a first silane chemical composition and a second silanechemical composition; and a chemical composition formed from theoligomerization of at least the first silane chemical composition andthe second silane chemical composition, wherein the first silanechemical composition and the second silane chemical composition aredifferent chemical compositions.

A twenty-fifth aspect includes the coated glass article of twenty-fourthaspect, wherein the first silane chemical composition is an aromaticsilane chemical composition.

A twenty-sixth aspect includes the coated glass article of theeighteenth aspect, wherein the first silane chemical composition is anaromatic silane chemical composition.

A twenty-seventh aspect includes the coated glass article of any of thesecond, sixth, or twenty-sixth aspects, wherein the first silanechemical composition comprises at least one amine moiety.

A twenty-eighth aspect includes the coated glass article of any of thesecond, sixth, or twenty-sixth aspects, wherein the first silanechemical composition is an aromatic alkoxysilane chemical composition,an aromatic acyloxysilane chemical composition, an aromatic halogensilane chemical composition, or an aromatic aminosilane chemicalcomposition.

A twenty-ninth aspect includes the coated glass article of any of thesecond, sixth, or twenty-sixth aspects, wherein the first silanechemical composition is selected from the group consisting ofaminophenyl, 3-(m-aminophenoxy) propyl, N-phenylaminopropyl, or(chloromethyl) phenyl substituted alkoxy, acyloxy, halogen, or aminosilanes.

A thirtieth aspect includes the coated glass article of any of thesecond, sixth, or twenty-sixth aspects, wherein the first silanechemical composition is aminophenyltrimethoxy silane.

A thirty-first aspect includes the coated glass article of any of thesecond, sixth, or twenty-sixth aspects, wherein the coupling agentcomprises at least one of: a mixture of the first silane chemicalcomposition and the second silane chemical composition, wherein thesecond silane chemical composition is an aliphatic silane chemicalcomposition; and a chemical composition formed from the oligomerizationof at least the first silane chemical composition and the second silanechemical composition.

A thirty-second aspect includes the coated glass article of thethirty-first aspect, wherein a molar ratio of the first silane chemicalcomposition and the second silane chemical composition is from about0.1:1 to about 10:1.

A thirty-third aspect includes the coated glass article of thethirty-first aspect, wherein the first silane chemical composition is anaromatic alkoxysilane chemical composition comprising at least one aminemoiety and the second silane chemical composition is an aliphaticalkoxysilane chemical composition comprising at least one amine moiety.

A thirty-fourth aspect includes the coated glass article of thethirty-first aspect, wherein the first silane chemical composition isselected from the group consisting of aminophenyl, 3-(m-aminophenoxy)propyl, N-phenylaminopropyl, or (chloromethyl) phenyl substitutedalkoxy, acyloxy, halogen, or amino silanes, hydrolysates thereof, oroligomers thereof, and the second silane chemical composition isselected from the group consisting of 3-aminopropyl,N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl, vinyl, methyl, N-phenylaminopropyl,(N-phenylamino)methyl, N-(2-Vinylbenzylaminoethyl)-3-aminopropylsubstituted alkoxy, acyloxy, halogen, or amino silanes, hydrolysatesthereof, or oligomers thereof.

A thirty-fifth aspect includes the coated glass article of thethirty-first aspect, wherein the first silane chemical compositioncomprises at least one amine moiety and the second silane chemicalcomposition comprises at least one amine moiety.

A thirty-sixth aspect includes the coated glass article of thethirty-first aspect, wherein the first silane chemical composition isaminophenyltrimethoxy silane and the second silane chemical compositionis 3-aminopropyltrimethoxy silane.

A thirty-seventh aspect includes the coated glass article of the thirdor seventh aspects, wherein the oligomer is formed from at leastaminophenyltrimethoxy silane.

A thirty-eighth aspect includes the coated glass article of the third orseventh aspects, wherein the oligomer is formed from at leastaminophenyltrimethoxy silane and aminopropyltrimethoxy silane.

A thirty-ninth aspect includes the coated glass article of the third orseventh aspects, wherein the first diamine monomer chemical compositionis ortho-Tolidine, the second diamine monomer chemical composition is4,4′-methylene-bis(2-methylaniline), and the dianhydride monomerchemical composition is benzophenone-3,3′,4,4′-tetracarboxylicdianhydride.

A fortieth aspect includes the coated glass article of any of the first,second, fourth, or fifth aspects, wherein the polymer chemicalcomposition is a polyimide chemical composition.

A forty-first aspect includes the coated glass article of any of thefirst, second, fourth, or fifth aspects, wherein the polymer chemicalcomposition is a polyimide chemical composition formed from thepolymerization of: at least one monomer chemical composition comprisingat least two amine moieties; and at least one monomer chemicalcomposition comprising at least two anhydride moieties and having abenzophenone structure.

A forty-second aspect includes the coated glass article of theforty-first aspect, wherein the monomer chemical composition comprisingat least two anhydride moieties isbenzophenone-3,3′,4,4′-tetracarboxylic dianhydride.

A forty-third aspect includes the coated glass article of any of thefirst, second, fourth, or fifth aspects, wherein the polymer chemicalcomposition is a polyimide chemical composition formed from thepolymerization of at least: a first monomer chemical composition, thefirst monomer chemical composition comprising at least two aminemoieties; a second monomer chemical composition, the second monomerchemical composition comprising at least two amine moieties; and a thirdmonomer chemical composition, the third monomer chemical compositioncomprising at least two anhydride moieties; wherein the first monomerchemical composition is different than the second monomer chemicalcomposition.

A forty-fourth aspect includes the coated glass article of theforty-third aspect, wherein the third monomer chemical composition has abenzophenone structure.

A forty-fifth aspect includes the coated glass article of theforty-fourth aspect, wherein the third monomer composition isbenzophenone-3,3′,4,4′-tetracarboxylic dianhydride.

A forty-sixth aspect includes the coated glass article of theforty-third aspect, wherein the first monomer chemical compositioncomprises two aromatic ring moieties.

A forty-seventh aspect includes the coated glass article of theforty-sixth aspect, wherein the two aromatic ring moieties of the firstmonomer chemical composition are directly bonded to one another.

A forty-eighth aspect includes the coated glass article of theforty-seventh aspect, wherein the second monomer chemical compositioncomprises two aromatic ring moieties and the two aromatic ring moietiesof the second monomer chemical composition are bonded with an alkylmoiety.

A forty-ninth aspect includes the coated glass article of theforty-eighth aspect, wherein a molar ratio of the first monomer chemicalcomposition to the second monomer chemical composition is between about0.01:0.49 to about 0.40:0.10.

A fiftieth aspect includes the coated glass article of the forty-sixthaspect, wherein the two aromatic ring moieties of the first monomerchemical composition are bonded with an alkyl moiety.

A fifty-first aspect includes the coated glass article of theforty-sixth aspect, wherein the first monomer chemical compositioncomprises a tolidine structure.

A fifty-second aspect includes the coated glass article of thefifty-first aspect, wherein the first monomer chemical composition isortho-Tolidine.

A fifty-third aspect includes the coated glass article of thefifty-first aspect, wherein the first monomer chemical composition is4,4′-methylene-bis(2-methylaniline).

A fifty-fourth aspect includes the coated glass article of thefifty-first aspect, wherein the first monomer chemical composition isortho-Tolidine and the second monomer chemical composition is4,4′-methylene-bis(2-methylaniline).

A fifty-fifth aspect includes the coated glass article of theforty-sixth aspect, wherein the second monomer chemical compositioncomprises an aromatic ring moiety.

A fifty-sixth aspect includes the coated glass article of any of thefirst through fifty-fifth aspects, wherein the low-friction coating hasa mass loss of less than about 5% of its mass when heated from atemperature of 150° C. to 350° C. at a ramp rate of about 10° C./minute.

In a fifty-seventh aspect, a low-friction coating for a substrate, thelow-friction coating comprising: a polyimide chemical composition; and acoupling agent comprising at least one of: a mixture of a first silanechemical composition, a hydrolysate thereof, or an oligomer thereof, anda second silane chemical composition, a hydrolysate thereof, or anoligomer thereof, wherein the first silane chemical composition is anaromatic silane chemical composition and the second silane chemicalcomposition is an aliphatic silane chemical composition; and a chemicalcomposition formed from the oligomerization of at least the first silanechemical composition and the second silane chemical composition,wherein: the coated glass article is thermally stable at a temperatureof at least about 260° C. for 30 minutes; a light transmission throughthe coated glass article is greater than or equal to about 55% of alight transmission through an uncoated glass article for wavelengthsfrom about 400 nm to about 700 nm; and the low-friction coating has amass loss of less than about 5% of its mass when heated from atemperature of 150° C. to 350° C. at a ramp rate of about 10° C./minute.

A fifty-eighth aspect includes the coated glass article of thefifty-seventh aspect, wherein the glass body comprises ion-exchangedglass.

A fifty-ninth aspect includes the coated glass article of thefifty-seventh aspect, wherein the polyimide chemical composition isformed from the polymerization of: at least one monomer chemicalcomposition comprising at least two amine moieties; and at least onemonomer chemical composition comprising at least two anhydride moietiesand having a benzophenone structure.

A sixtieth aspect includes the coated glass article of the fifty-seventhaspect, wherein the polyimide chemical composition is formed from thepolymerization of at least benzophenone-3,3′,4,4′-tetracarboxylicdianhydride, ortho-Tolidine, and 4,4′-methylene-bis(2-methylaniline).

A sixty-first aspect includes the coated glass article of thefifty-seventh aspect, wherein the first silane chemical compositioncomprises at least one amine moiety.

A sixty-second aspect includes the coated glass article of thefifty-seventh aspect, wherein the first silane chemical composition isaminophenyltrimethoxy silane and the second silane chemical compositionis 3-aminopropyltrimethoxy silane.

In a sixty-third aspect, a process for producing a coated glasscontainer comprises: loading a plurality of glass containers into acassette; immersing the cassette and the plurality of glass containersin a bath of molten alkali salt; removing the cassette and the glasscontainers from the bath of molten alkali salt; immersing the cassetteand the plurality of glass containers in a water bath to remove residualalkali salt from the glass containers; washing the glass containers withdeionized water; and coating the glass containers with a low-frictioncoating.

A sixty-fourth aspect includes the coated glass article of thesixty-third aspect, wherein the cassette and the plurality of glasscontainers are preheated prior to being immersed in the bath of moltenalkali salt.

A sixty-fifth aspect includes the coated glass article of thesixty-third aspect, wherein the bath of molten alkali salt is 100% KNO3at a temperature of greater than or equal to about 350° C. and less thanor equal to about 500° C.

A sixty-sixth aspect includes the coated glass article of thesixty-third aspect, wherein the cassette and the glass containers areheld in the bath of molten alkali salt for a holding period sufficientto achieve a depth of layer up to about 100 μm and a compressive stressgreater than or equal to 300 MPa in the surface of the glass container.

A sixty-seventh aspect includes the coated glass article of thesixty-fifth aspect, wherein the holding period is less than 30 hours.

A sixty-eighth aspect includes the coated glass article of thesixty-third aspect, wherein, after the cassette and glass containers areremoved from the bath of molten alkali salt, the cassette is rotatedabout a horizontal axis to empty molten salt from the glass containers.

A sixty-ninth aspect includes the coated glass article of thesixty-third aspect, wherein the cassette and glass containers aresuspended over the bath of molten alkali salt as the cassette isrotated.

A seventieth aspect includes the coated glass article of the sixty-thirdaspect, wherein the cassette and glass containers are cooled beforebeing immersed in the water bath.

A seventy-first aspect includes the coated glass article of thesixty-third aspect, wherein the water bath is a first water bath and thecassette and glass containers are immersed in a second water bath afterbeing immersed in the first water bath.

A seventy-second aspect includes the coated glass article of thesixty-third aspect, further comprising unloading the glass containersfrom the cassette prior to washing the glass containers in deionizedwater.

A seventy-third aspect includes the coated glass article of thesixty-third aspect, wherein coating the glass containers with alow-friction coating comprises applying a coating solution to the glasscontainers.

A seventy-fourth aspect includes the coated glass article of thesixty-third aspect, wherein coating the glass containers with alow-friction coating comprises: applying a coupling agent to an exteriorsurface of the glass containers; and applying a polymer coating to theglass containers over the coupling agent.

A seventy-fifth aspect includes the coated glass article of theseventy-fourth aspect, wherein the coupling agent and the polymercoating solution are dip coated onto the glass container.

A seventy-sixth aspect includes the coated glass article of theseventy-fourth aspect, wherein the coupling agent and the polymercoating solution are spray coated onto the glass container.

A seventy-seventh aspect includes the coated glass article of theseventy-fourth aspect, wherein the coupling agent and the polymercoating solution are misted or fogged onto the glass container.

A seventy-eighth aspect includes the coated glass article of theseventy-fourth aspect, wherein the coupling agent and the polymercoating solution are transferred onto the glass container by anysolution transfer technique (swabbed, brushed, printed, rolled on,etc.).

A seventy-ninth aspect includes the coated glass article of theseventy-fourth aspect, wherein the glass surface with an appliedcoupling agent is heat treated prior to applying the polymer coatingsolution.

A eightieth aspect includes the coated glass article of theseventy-ninth aspect, wherein the glass surface with an applied couplingagent is heat treated by heating the glass containers in an oven.

An eighty-first aspect includes the coated glass article of theseventy-fourth aspect, further comprising curing the polymer coatingsolution after the polymer coating solution is applied to the glasscontainer.

An eighty-second aspect includes the coated glass article of theseventy-fourth aspect, wherein the coupling agent and/or polymer coatingis thermally cured.

An eighty-third aspect includes the coated glass article of theseventy-fourth aspect, wherein the coupling agent and/or polymer coatingis cured with UV light.

It should now be understood that the glass containers with low frictivecoatings described herein exhibit improved resistance to mechanicaldamage as a result of the application of the low frictive coating and,as such, the glass containers have enhanced mechanical durability. Thisproperty makes the glass containers well suited for use in variousapplications including, without limitation, pharmaceutical packagingmaterials.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the embodiments describedherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimedsubject matter. Thus it is intended that the specification cover themodifications and variations of the various embodiments described hereinprovided such modification and variations come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A coated glass pharmaceutical package comprising:a glass container having an interior surface and an exterior surface anda wall extending therebetween, and the glass container is formed fromone of a borosilicate glass composition that meets Type 1 criteriaaccording to USP <660> or an alkali aluminosilicate glass having a ClassHGA 1 hydrolytic resistance when tested according to the ISO 720-1985testing standard; and a low-friction coating bonded to the exteriorsurface of the glass container, the low-friction coating comprising apolymer and a coupling agent, and having a thickness of less than about100 μm; wherein: the coupling agent comprises one or more of titanates,zirconates, tin, titanium, tin oxide, or titanium oxide; the exteriorsurface of the glass container with the low-friction coating has acoefficient of friction of less than or equal to 0.7, the coefficient offriction is a maximum coefficient of friction measured relative to asecond coated glass pharmaceutical package in a vial-on-vial testing jigunder a normal load of 30 N, the second coated glass pharmaceuticalpackage formed from the same glass composition and comprising thelow-friction coating on at least a portion of a second exterior surfaceof the second coated glass pharmaceutical package and subjected to thesame environmental conditions prior to measurement of the coefficient offriction; and the coated glass pharmaceutical package is thermallystable after depyrogenation in air at a temperature of at least about260° C. for 30 minutes.
 2. The coated glass pharmaceutical package ofclaim 1, wherein the polymer is selected from the group consisting ofpolyimides, polybenzimidazoles, polysulfones, polyetheretherketones,polyetherimides, polyamides, polyphenyls, polybenzothiazoles,polybenzoxazoles, polybisthiazoles, polyaromatic heterocyclic polymers,fluoropolymers, silicone resins and silsesquioxane-based polymers. 3.The coated glass pharmaceutical package of claim 1, wherein the portionof the exterior surface of the coated glass pharmaceutical package withthe low-friction coating contains less than 6 glass checks per 5 mmlength when abraded along a length of about 20 mm with the second coatedglass pharmaceutical package in the vial-on-vial testing jig under thenormal load of 30 N and after exposing the coated glass pharmaceuticalpackage and the second coated glass pharmaceutical package to atemperature of at least about 260° C. for 30 minutes.
 4. The coatedglass pharmaceutical package of claim 1, wherein a light transmissionthrough the coated glass pharmaceutical package is greater than or equalto about 55% of a light transmission through an uncoated glass articlefor wavelengths from about 400 nm to about 700 nm.
 5. The coated glasspharmaceutical package of claim 1, wherein a light transmission throughthe coated glass pharmaceutical package is greater than or equal toabout 90% of a light transmission through an uncoated glasspharmaceutical package for wavelengths from about 400 nm to about 700nm.
 6. The coated glass pharmaceutical package of claim 1, wherein aretained strength of the coated glass pharmaceutical package inhorizontal compression does not decrease by more than about 20% afterexposure to a temperature of about 260° C. for 30 minutes and afterabrasion under a load of 30 N.
 7. The coated glass pharmaceuticalpackage of claim 1, wherein a retained strength of the coated glasspharmaceutical package in horizontal compression does not decrease bymore than about 30% after exposure to a temperature of about 260° C. for30 minutes and after abrasion under a load of 30 N.
 8. The coated glasspharmaceutical package of claim 1, wherein a retained strength of thecoated glass pharmaceutical package in horizontal compression does notdecrease by more than about 40% after exposure to a temperature of about260° C. for 30 minutes and after abrasion under a load of 30 N.
 9. Thecoated glass pharmaceutical package of claim 1, wherein a retainedstrength of the coated glass pharmaceutical package in horizontalcompression does not decrease by more than about 20% after exposure to atemperature of about 300° C. for 30 minutes and abrasion under a load of30 N.
 10. The coated glass pharmaceutical package of claim 1, wherein aretained strength of the coated glass pharmaceutical package inhorizontal compression does not decrease by more than about 30% afterexposure to a temperature of about 300° C. for 30 minutes and abrasionunder a load of 30 N.
 11. The coated glass pharmaceutical package ofclaim 1, wherein a retained strength of the coated glass pharmaceuticalpackage in horizontal compression does not decrease by more than about40% after exposure to a temperature of about 300° C. for 30 minutes andabrasion under a load of 30 N load.
 12. A coated pharmaceutical packagecomprising: a glass body having an interior surface and an exteriorsurface and a wall extending therebetween, wherein the glass body is aglass container formed from one of a borosilicate glass composition thatmeets Type 1 criteria according to USP <660> or an alkalialuminosilicate glass having a Class HGA 1 hydrolytic resistance whentested according to the ISO 720-1985 testing standard; a low-frictioncoating comprising a polymer positioned on at least a portion of theexterior surface of the glass body, the portion of the exterior surfaceof the glass body with the low-friction coating comprising a coefficientof friction of less than or equal to 0.7, wherein the coefficient offriction is a maximum coefficient of friction measured relative to asecond coated pharmaceutical package in a vial-on-vial testing jig undera normal load of 30 N, the second coated pharmaceutical packagecomprising a glass body formed from the same glass composition andcomprising the low-friction coating on at least a portion of an exteriorsurface of the second coated pharmaceutical package and subjected to thesame environmental conditions prior to measurement of the coefficient offriction; and a light transmission through the coated pharmaceuticalpackage is greater than or equal to about 55% of a light transmissionthrough an uncoated pharmaceutical package formed from the same glasscomposition for wavelengths from about 400 nm to about 700 nm; whereinthe low-friction coating comprises a coupling agent comprising one ormore of titanates, zirconates, tin, titanium, tin oxide, or titaniumoxide.
 13. The coated pharmaceutical package of claim 12, wherein thepolymer is selected from the group consisting of polyimides,polybenzimidazoles, polysulfones, polyetheretherketones,polyetherimides, polyamides, polyphenyls, polybenzothiazoles,polybenzoxazoles, polybisthiazoles, polyaromatic heterocyclic polymers,fluoropolymers, silicone resins and silsesquioxane-based polymers. 14.The coated pharmaceutical package of claim 12, wherein the portion ofthe exterior surface of the coated pharmaceutical package with thelow-friction coating contains less than 6 glass checks per 5 mm lengthwhen abraded along a length of about 20 mm with the second coatedpharmaceutical package in the vial-on-vial testing jig under the normalload of 30 N and after exposing the coated pharmaceutical package andthe second coated pharmaceutical package to a temperature of at leastabout 260° C. for 30 minutes.
 15. The coated pharmaceutical package ofclaim 12, wherein a light transmission through the coated pharmaceuticalpackage is greater than or equal to about 90% of a light transmissionthrough an uncoated pharmaceutical package for wavelengths from about400 nm to about 700 nm.
 16. The coated pharmaceutical package of claim12, wherein a retained strength of the coated pharmaceutical package inhorizontal compression does not decrease by more than about 20% afterexposure to a temperature of about 260° C. for 30 minutes and afterabrasion under a load of 30 N.
 17. The coated pharmaceutical package ofclaim 12, wherein a retained strength of the coated pharmaceuticalpackage in horizontal compression does not decrease by more than about30% after exposure to a temperature of about 260° C. for 30 minutes andafter abrasion under a load of 30 N.
 18. The coated pharmaceuticalpackage of claim 12, wherein a retained strength of the coatedpharmaceutical package in horizontal compression does not decrease bymore than about 40% after exposure to a temperature of about 260° C. for30 minutes and after abrasion under a load of 30 N.
 19. The coated glasspharmaceutical package of claim 12, wherein a retained strength of thecoated pharmaceutical package in horizontal compression does notdecrease by more than about 20% after exposure to a temperature of about300° C. for 30 minutes and abrasion under a load of 30 N.
 20. The coatedpharmaceutical package of claim 12, wherein a retained strength of thecoated pharmaceutical package in horizontal compression does notdecrease by more than about 30% after exposure to a temperature of about300° C. for 30 minutes and abrasion under a load of 30 N.
 21. The coatedpharmaceutical package of claim 12, wherein a retained strength of thecoated pharmaceutical package in horizontal compression does notdecrease by more than about 40% after exposure to a temperature of about300° C. for 30 minutes and abrasion under a load of 30 N.